tummy love

i actually did my hair today, which inspired me to take some ridiculously awesome tummy shots. haha

24 weeks

this is the part where you leave a comment telling me how cute I look, all pregnant and stuff. wink wink

bring on the tummy love!

Why I love my man

Yes, I still love him.  I've just been a little down and out with a dreadful cold.  Congestion headaches are the worst.  Which brings me to one thing I love about my man.

He is sooooo helpful.  Like, he helps with the dishes, not just every now and then, but every day.  And he scrubs toilets.  And helps with the laundry.  When I'm not feeling well, he whips up a great dinner.  He gives little e her bath at night.  He massages my feet.  He makes sure I always have what I need.  He is consistently working to ease my burdens and is always helping with the housework.

I'm sure some of that stems from him growing up in a spotlessly clean home, so that's how he likes things.  But it's also just cuz he's sweet and thoughtful and wants to do whatever he can to help me out.  Even though he works full time and is taking a full load of classes, he still manages to make my life easier by cleaning here and there.  Every day.  Very attractive. 

kisses

The following conversation actually took place.  And I want to remember it. 

little e: Hold me, Mommy.  Hold me.

me:  I'll hold you in a minute.

little e:  Hold me, Mommy. 

me:  You mean I have to be your mom and I have to hold you?

little e: mmm hmmm!

me:  How much money do I get?

little e:  Kisses kisses! (pronounced kee-ses)

I'm not sure where she learned that kisses double as currency, but I accepted the kisses and held my girl.  What a cutie pants.

She is in the cutest stage of life right now.  Old enough to hold my hand, give me kisses, and tell me she loves me (okay, most of the time she tells me she loves her daddy).  She melts my heart over and over and over again and I can't get enough of how sweet and snuggly she is.
 
I love you, little e.  I hope you always know that. 

happy march

some people don't like march.  that's fine.  but i think it's a wonderful month.  especially since it's the month that brought my man into the world.

yep, mr. shirley is about to turn ancient!  and i'll be getting all mushy about how much i love him.  

in no particular order, i present to you the love series, "why i love my man."

let's get started. 

reason number 1:  he doesn't play video games.  i'm serious, ladies and gentleman.  i think it's so hot that he doesn't play video games.  of course, when we go visit family, he'll join in on the friendly competition (and he's usually awful).  but it's not a habit of his to play regularly.  and it turns me on.  i tell him all the time, too.  that's how i hit on him. 

here he is, not playing video games:

and again, not playing video games:

and one more time

see what i mean?  love it.  love him.  for reals.

my life

got out of bed to kiss the hubs goodbye.

noticed it was snowing outside.  mentally canceled our walk today.

ate breakfast.  never thought i'd say this, but i'm a little bored with eating lately.  why am i so hungry?

put together a puzzle with little e.  she loves puzzles.  i love hearing her say, "goes here" when she's holding a piece in her hand.

started a load of laundry.  which is a pretty big deal around here.

set up the card table in our mess room, which will serve as my sewing table.  hoping we can change it from a mess room to a craft room.

changed little e's poopy and got her dressed.  she even let me do her hair.

read some books with little e.

made some calls to get ready for new beginnings tonight.  be glad when it's over.  i'm not a fan of big activities that require so much planning.  and i'm not even in charge.

made oobleck with e girl.  after getting over the fact that her hands were going to be messy, she loved it.

had lunch.

ichat with the hubs.  yes, we do that every day.  he's cute like that.

thinking i'll go take a nap.  then a shower.  probably ought to do it the other way around, but i won't.

life is beautiful, don't you think?

happy tuesday :)

freedom

I quit a few of my jobs today.

For almost a year now, I've been babysitting to add a little cash flow.  At first it was great - the kiddos I watched were so entertaining and it was great for little e to have a playmate.  Just a couple hours each day and a few extra dollars to help pay our house off a bit faster.  The perfect set up.

But since October, I've been watching three different children.  Sometimes it was okay but sometimes I felt like I was on the edge of a breakdown.  I just wanted to have a bit of time for myself.  I'm sure my pregnancy, the winter, and little e's growing up all played a part in the change of how I felt.  It just wasn't something great anymore, but felt more like a burden - something that I sort of dreaded.

Last night I went to our RS activity and one of the speakers said, "Get rid of everything negative in your life."  Immediately I thought, oh my goodness, that's babysitting.  I'd been going back and forth for a while, but last night it was so clear.  I need to let that part of my life go, so I can be more emotionally, physically, and spiritually balanced.  I want to be a better mom and really focus on loving my e girl.  I want to give her all of me, not a distracted, exhausted, frustrated me.

So this morning I did it.  I let each of the parents know that this was my two weeks notice.  It was hard, because I love them all so much and I want to help them out, but I can already tell a difference.  I know my sweet girl will miss her friends, but maybe now I can make some friends :)  

It feels so good to know my life is my own again!  Looking forward to some extra special moments with my baby.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Jeffree had class on Valentine's day until 7:30 p.m., so I offered to babysit for a family in the ward.  If I can't get my romance on, I might as well let someone else, right?

The mom already had dinner ready for her boys when I got there, but she pointed out some leftovers in the fridge for me to eat.  Oh my heavens!  It was sooooooooooo good!  Hands down the best chicken wild rice soup I've ever had.  I borrowed the recipe, typed it up, and thought I'd share it with you. 

Chicken (or turkey) Wild Rice Soup

1 Med onion diced

5 celery stalks diced

½ cup flour

1 pkg Uncle Bens Long Grain Wild Rice

2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey

½ tsp salt

2 carrots diced

½ cup butter or margarine

6 cups of broth (chicken or turkey)

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

¼ tsp pepper

In large pot, sauté onion, celery and carrots in butter until onion is transparent.  Reduce heat.  Blend in flour and cook until bubbly.  Gradually add broth, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Reduce heat, add wild rice (pre cooked), cream, meat, parsley, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Yield: 10-12 servings.

Try it.  You just might love it.