I can speak!

YEAH! It has only taken 2 days but I can talk again! It's not pretty, still a little whispery, raspy but totally understandable now. Life is good.....and cold too.

I'm heading out now to Hayden's Fun Run. Thank goodness they moved it indoors. I don't think I would have done good being out in the elements today. At least its not 40 mph winds like last night. Wondered if the house was going to blow away. I felt like one of the 3 little pigs with the world huffing and puffing outside my door. Let's hope its warmer tomorrow because Isabelle's Fun Run is not slated to be inside. EEEKKKK and BRRRRR! Thank goodness its supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow, but I won't count on it. Gotta run! ;-)

Bad news/Good news

I have laryngitis.

I croak when I talk.

Talking on the phone is a nightmare.

People keep saying "What?" and "Are you sick?"

Since I can't really talk I think to myself "No, I'm not sick. I like trying out different voices to see which I'm going to go with in the future. This is my frog voice. Do you like it?" And then I say out loud "Yes."

I hate being sick.

I like making my husband take care of me.

I like when he feels that the best way to take care of me is to take me out to eat comfort food, ie: Cracker Barrel.

Bad news for me: I can't talk

Good news for me: I get taken care of

Good news for hubby: I can't talk

Bad news for hubby: I get taken care of

Seems fair to me.

Are you kidding me?

I was helping Isabelle brush her teeth last night and she commented on the fact that another tooth was REALLY loose.

I check it. I wiggle it. It moves.....a lot. So I get a napkin and pull.......

The tooth fairy came to visit last night....again.

The good news is her teeth are growing in fast. Which means someday in the near future she'll be able to eat an apple again.

YEAH!!!

When I was in my teens and 20's and VERY naive about life, I swore, I mean SWORE, I would NEVER, NOT EVER drive a mini-van. And I stayed true to that through one child and no dog. Then came child number two and during that pregnancy I started thinking about how crowded it would be in an Accord for both girls. How one would have to be on the outside seat of the car while one was in the middle. And we got a big dog. Enter the little thought that came worming its way into my mind: I wish I had a mini-van.

Yes, I was a mini-van convert! I freely admit that! Do I sometimes feel (as I was told in FaceBook the other day) that I'm no longer "cool or hip" because I drive a van? Yes, but those thoughts are few and far between because to me it is a badge of honor.

I have carried and birthed 2 wonderful children. They are driven around safely and comfortably in my van. They've spilled everything in there from Cheerios to Chicken Nuggets and haven't trashed it yet.

I am able to load my 110 pound labbie into my van and take him where ever we go. And now I have a 60 pound bundle of energy that can bounce around in the back without disturbing those of us waaaaay up front. Try doing that in an Accord. I've tried, it doesn't work.

My van has taken us all over the state of Georgia, to Auburn, Disney, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee multiple times each with both kids and every accoutrement known to man and still had room to spread out.

We can fit all 4 of our family and my parents and my sister in there with ease and have done so many, many times.

I have heated seats for those 3:00am rides home from work when I'm frozen from head to toe; and yes that place in between. I have XM radio and DVD for long trips. In other words, my van is my rolling home away from home AND I LOVE IT!!! And it has now been ransomed from the car hospital. I never thought I'd be so happy to slide onto any leather seat, adjust the seat to my height and then pause for a moment to enjoy being "home" again. Apparently my kids feel the same way. As they climbed into the van, from one side I heard "Thank goodness" and from the other I heard "We've missed you".

So maybe I'm not "cool or hip" anymore because I drive a van, but I am happy and that, my friends, is what is important.

Mixed Emotions

My car is finally ready.

I feel icky.

I think I'll crawl back into the bed for awhile.

Then I'll get my car.

Things I did not love about today

1) Having to get up super early to go to a 7:30 meeting

2) Having to wake my children up super early to go to said meeting. Especially when the oldest goes "I'm not getting up; I'm not going to school today; I'm tired and I don't feel like it." Yeah, I feel ya kid; now get up!

3) Trying to catch the new dog who had jumped the fence again....in the rain.....when I need to be leaving to get to the school. Did I mention the rain?

4) My van still not being ready with no finish date in sight.

5) Having to come in to work when I would much rather be home with my family.

6) Trying to order food and the place, that I had been thinking about for hours, that has the sandwich, that I had been thinking about for hours, had already stopped delivering for the night. Ah man, I hate having to go for second choice!!!

The things I loved about today that make all those things easier to bear?

1) Hugging my children when they just get out of bed and they hug me as if they haven't seen me in weeks and have missed me the entire time.

2) Laughing and talking with friends at a school pep rally and on the phone.

3) Talking to my husband on the phone and hearing in his voice that he would rather I not have to go to work tonight too; and not just because he wants help with the girls!

4) Feeling young and sporty driving he Accord!

Yeah, its all good!

How cool

How cool is it when you realize that your 5 year old understands there is a little bit deeper meaning to life? This is a picture that Belle drew and then turns to me and says "This is why we recycle and try to be good people."

Man, I love that kid!!