Being Thankful Instead of Whining

Tonight I am exhausted.  Beyond exhausted.  I have crammed 2 weeks worth of activities and cleaning into 2 days.  And the hubs is sick.  Nora Virus is going around something fierce in Western NC and it has made its way to our house.  It isn't a surprise since I think I've taken about 476 people by ambulance to the hospital for the exact same thing.

Today I really just want to whine and be a really big baby but I'm not going to.  Instead I'm going to make a thankful list.

I'm thankful for(in absolutely no particular order):

• Salvation
• Caffeine in the mornings and afternoon and the evening too
• Grace both common and special
• A healthy Clayton
• 8 weeks until graduation
• Family that loves me in spite of me
• Planning special things
• Netflix
• Pinterest
• An amazing church family
• A husband that works really hard so that I can dream big
• Clean sheets on the bed(where I will very soon be.....YAY!!)
• Hearing a child sing childish songs in the bathtub
• New tires
• Pink scarves
• Homemade organic and all natural chocolate chip cookies
• Johanna
• Clorox and vinegar(one to disinfect the Nora Virus, the other to take away the smell of Clorox)
• Electricity and Internet

I don't feel like whining any more.  And that is the point.

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Valentine's Day

I know this is a week behind but I'm busy.  I spend a lot of time away from home and Clayton and when I am with him I like to be with him.  We actually celebrated our VDay on Thursday instead of Tuesday because I had to work and Chad was at a conference on the day.  And then the 15th was Clayton's birthday and we didn't want to do it that day to take away from the specialness of his BDay.

We kept it pretty low key this year.  Dinner at a local restaurant.  And we took Clayton with us which we wouldn't usually do on a VDay/Date night but like I said I'm not home a lot and I don't like giving up much available time with him.  We let him pick the restaurant with the stipulation that we were NOT going to McDonalds or Chick Fil A.  We went to a local restaurant that overlooks the Catawba River.  He loves to go there and act like he can see all the fish in the water.

After dinner we headed to Walmart(that's real romance) and let Clayton pick out a Dorothy.  Oh you don't know who Dorothy is?  Well, my 4 year old has a very recent and new obsession with Elmo.  At an age when a lot of kids are starting to grow out of Sesame Street, Clayton has just developed an interest in it.  And he LOVES Elmo.  Elmo has a goldfish named Dorothy and now Clayton has a goldfish named Dorothy.  She or he, we aren't lost in the details here people, is absolutely spastic.  That fish is always circling the bowl.  All. The. Time.

I got Chad a new wedding ring because he has a titanium ring that is just really scratched and I thought he needed a new one.  But somebody(Chapel Door I'm talking straight to you) inadvertently told Chad what his present was so I let him have it about a week before we actually celebrated.  But I held his card until the big day.  Wanna see?  Please ignore the junk behind the card.  It's Chad's dresser and well, he keeps it the way he likes much to my chagrin.

Oh yeah, you read that right.  And it's true.  And funny.  We don't do a lot of touchy-feely, lovey-dovey stuff so this is absolutely perfect for us.

Chad got me a new ring to wear to work.  I don't really like to wear my full wedding set because the diamonds have a tendency to put holes in the gloves I have on(low bid).  And that is just grody!  Hubs has been listening to my subtle hints(which may or may not have included an email with a link to exactly what I wanted).

I wanted a really low, almost flat band with diamonds. The picture isn't hot but the ring is fantastic.  He really did well.  I can wear this one to work with no worries of cutting through my gloves and getting the grody on my hands.  Yay!!

 We had a great VDay.  It's just one day and it's kind of a lame holiday but ours was really special this year.  We are constantly on the run and barely see each other some weeks so it was nice to take a few moments and remember why we live in the same house with each other.

This is why!

I Will Post.

I have much to update and I promise it is forth coming.  A certain boy turned 4.  We had a family day to find snow and just have some general fun.  We had an amazing Valentine's Day complete with head colds and now laryngitis.  I even have a few pictures, although not as many as I would like to have taken.

But.......

60 hours on the ambulance in the last 7 days along with school, church, and snow have made my schedule a little crazy.

Just hold tight.

Being a Mom!

I'm a mom.  I work a public job.  And I like(actually I really love what I do) it.  It works best for our family.  That doesn't make it the best decision for every family but it is the best for ours.  When I got laid-off in 2010 I considered staying home but very quickly realized that it wasn't right for our family.  Right now I work part time while I finish school.  Hopefully, when I'm finished with school I can go full time with the county I work in and their full time schedule is wonderful.  Especially for a mom with little ones.

I read a post recently that expressed what I have wanted to express for a long time but never seem to have the right words.  You can read it here. 

Whatever our choices as a mother we should support one another as mothers.  And be understanding of the differences and sameness(??).

Happy mothering!

Friday, I'm In Love

It's Friday!  And if I had a regular Monday through Friday job where I had every weekend off I would be really excited but since I don't and I have to work tonight then Friday is just another day. 

But tomorrow we are having our traditional birthday dinner for Clayton.  My family does this every year for everybody's birthday.  And the one celebrating the birthday gets to pick what they want for dinner on that one day.  Clayton in all of his almost four year old wisdom chose chicken tenders.  He could have the world and chose chicken tenders, something he eats probably at least two days a week already.  Childhood simplicity.

And speaking of almost four year old boys....................I don't have him a birthday present.  Chad and I don't even have an idea for a present.  He has so much and so may people love him.  The only thing that comes to mind is a goldfish named Dorothy(like Elmo's fish).  I believe he needs(that's certainly relative) than a fifty cent goldfish.

Currently the three and nine-tenths child is trying to force feed my gummy words.  Nasty!

But I do love this little man.

Photography iPhone style courtesy of Clayton.  I don't have a clue how he made it red.

Circus(iPhone style)

 So this isn't so much the circus as it is a picture of my dinner from Date Night.  If you live locally to me this place is a must try.  Chad and I love it.  Root & Vine has amazing food and a really inviting atmosphere.  It's a little pricey so we don't get to go much but we really love it for a date night when it's just the two of us.

Now on to the circus.

 Almost all of my NC family(I have a tee tiny family) went circusing this past Saturday.  We had so much fun.  Because Clayton went with his parents, one set of grandparents, one aunt and uncle, and one great-grandmother he really racked up on the goodies.  We prefer the word "blessed" as to spoiled.  Although I'm sure both words apply equally.

 This twisty gem of a toy is courtesy of Great-Grandmother.  Clayton was a fan and it very quickly became a weapon.

 And of course cotton candy.

 And popcorn at the same time.

After the circus we took our circus to Maggiano's.  Do ya'll have one of these near you?  If you don't you should move near one. 

 After we ate lunch, Clayton wanted to play at the mountain, AKA fountain.  When he threw his money in, his wish was "to get all that money out of the mountain".  Brilliant!

And this is how all of us were feeling after our adventure.

It was so worth it.

Busy is as Busy Does

Today is my first "real" day off in 10 days.  If I work a night shift and then have the following day off I don't count that.  While I should get off at 8am, it rarely ever happens and by the time I get Clayton it feels like it's already lunch time.  Bubba and I are just chillin' today.  We have a grand plan of cleaning the house and buying groceries.  And then making my husband a real dinner, because let's face it it may be 10 more days before I have another "real" day off.

Here's what's new in our world:

• Clayton has a new obsession with Sesame Street.  He has never ever been interested in it.  But at almost 4 he is officially obsessed.  Since we're being lazy today, he's already on episode #2.
• We are going to the circus on Saturday.  The real circus.  Ringling Brothers will have their hands full when the Carr/Carswell clan intrude on their circusy activities.
• I have a clinical tomorrow and Clayton is going to get to spend part of the day and all night with my Grandmother.  He is very excited and has been talking about this for weeks.  It's very sweet.  He always asks to stay "much longer" when we're visiting.
• I have fallen in love with my crock-pot.  I have always used it pretty regularly but since I now work 12 hour(at the shortest) days I like to have dinner ready to go when I get home.  And this helps us to eat more "real food" and less processed or take-out stuff(that is probably rotting our insides).
• I only have 11 class days until graduation.  They are spread out over 11 weeks and I have a lot of clinical left to do.  But, it seems shorter saying 11 days.
• Clayton is at the size where he's teetering between toddler sizes and the bigger boy sizes.  I usually end up getting his clothes in the bigger boy sizes now.  Belk was having an amazing sale last week and he got his first pair of big boy PJs.  The kind that don't come with a matching shirt like really big boys wear.  He thinks he's pretty hot stuff in jammies like his Dad.

That's about it for us right now.  The grocery store beckons me.  And my dirty floors too.