Killer Colds and Productive Rebounds

For the first time in 10 years I came down with the flu. Terrible bodyaches, fever and horrible cough and congestion had me in bed for 2 days. Once I felt the tiniest bit better I was up and full speed ahead. Work at St. John has been crazy, our social calendar full and my neurotic and never-ending "To Do" list never seems to get smaller.

Well after 3 weeks of the flu/cold symptoms not subsiding I finally succombed and and went to the doctor. Let me just say that I rarely get sick, and never to the extent of needing to go to the doctor, so when it finally came time to go I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. I finally got an appointment on Friday and after a five minute exam where the nurse practitioner assured me my lungs, ears and throat were free of infection I was told I just had a bad cold that needed to be treated. She prescribed me a heavy duty cough suppresant and told me to pick up three more over-the-counter meds (claritin, sudafed, and mucinex). Well I took all three and then went to a friend's house for some yummy Indian food and a beer. Let's just say by 9 pm I was about to pass out and my friends feared I would not be able to drive home! After some yummy homemade chai tea though I perked up a bit, made it home and passed out! (I still made it to bootcamp the next morning even!)

Well enough about me and my never ending cold. On to the family! In the past 3 weeks we've visited Jenn and Baby Brooklyn, worked on our garden by laying the initial planter boxes (we plan to plant next weekend when it warms up a bit), had a very successful Craft Fair at our house, visited Look What I Made, had plenty of playdates and fun dinners with our neighbors and friends & family, prepped for our 2008 tax appointment, and did lots of fun organizing! As usual we never seem to slow down! This was actually the first weekend that we didn't have ANY plans at all and last night after just hanging around the house all day, Taylor asks, "Who's coming over for dinner?" She seemed dissappointed when we told her it would just be us! hahaha!!

Attached are some pictures of some of the organizing I did over the weekend. I was so tired of Taylor's "clippy drawer" being a complete disaster so I took an idea from my neighbor Sarah and hung some ribbon to place her clips on, then hung it in her room. I figure this will make things so much easier for her and me when we are doing our daily routine of choosing her clippys to wear. My friend Chris gave me an awesome idea for organizing Taylor's artwork over the past few years; keep the most inspirational pieces and place them in a book. I made one for 2007, 2008 and started one for 2009. I also grabbed her idea for labeling toys with pictures so that Taylor and the rest of the family can help mommy clean up and stay organized. Am I passing on my neuroses to my children???

lastly, we finally hung the amazing pictures that our sitter Marin took of Sydney on his 1st birthday! She developed the pictures (in a darkroom!) and framed them for our 2008 Christmas present. I felt so bad that we hadn't gotten around to hanging them yet so while Art had out his hammer we finally got it hung. Thank you so much Marin!

Taylor starts Kidnastics tomorrow and I hope and pray it goes well! Wish us luck.

Sydney has started putting 3 words together and his vocabulary overall is just exploding. It's so awesome to see them grow in leaps and bounds in just a couple of weeks!

Here's to growing kids, stealing great ideas from fellow mommys, and over the counter cold medication! Happy Sunday everyone :)

A Moment of Awe

The message in church today was about letting our fear of God hold us back and how many of us know more about God than actually know Him. The pastor went on to discuss how so often we come to church on Sunday to be lifted up and revved up for the week, only to find that by Wednesday we may believe in God and know about Him, but our actions don't show it (the pastor admitted that even he is very guilty of this). He encouraged us before we took communion to have a moment of silence and really focus on God and Jesus Christ and understand his Awe if you will.

As we closed our eyes and the congregation became silent, Sydney, who was sitting on my lap, proceeded to try and pry my eyes open. Then all of a sudden he became very calm and still and literally wrapped his arms around my neck and buried his head in my neck and sat like that for about 1 minute. I know there are many ways to experience the power of God and Jesus Christ, but for me, there is nothing like the love of my children to make you bow down in true awe of Him. As tears streamed down my face during this truly precious and peaceful moment, I was reminded that God has put me on this Earth to raise these 2 beings and, and although it is extremely challenging a lot of the time (okay, most of the time), there is nothing more important I could be doing. I need to be grateful and appreciate every moment with them, and when it's tough, and you've all heard me complain how tough it is, especially with Syd, I need to say a prayer and ask God for patience, forgiveness and understanding.

I LOVE YOU Taylor and Sydney with every ounce of my being! Thank you for being who you are.