Thankful Thursday

1. I am thankful for my healthy baby boy. We have been blessed that Zachary has been so healhy; the worst he has had was that short case of croup a few months ago. But no ear infections, stomach viruses, or anything! Thank God! I am especially thankful because a few weeks ago, a girl from college gave birth prematurely to her little boy, Daniel. Please keep them in your prayers, and check here www.caringbridge.org/visit/danieldodd for more updates on the Dodd family.

2. I am thankful for my in-laws. They take such good care of us and help with Zachary so much. I'm pretty sure we'd be living in a cardboard box withhout their help!

3. I am thankful for FREE People magazines. This is the second time I've gotten something in the mail giving me a free 6 week subscription.

4. I am thankful that the leak in our roof is fixed (thanks Kyle, Kevin, and Ken!)

5. I am thankful that my mom makes all of Kyle's boxers, it saves us a TON of money! Oops-just gave away the answer to boxers or briefs, huh?

6. I am thankful that I have been able to nurse Zachary for almost 9 months now, and that he has grown and developed so well because of it! (Even if it is like wrestling an aligator at times--see previous post!)

7. I am thankful that Kyle and I got to have another date night last Friday--two in one month! Kinda helps that he has been on his weekends off right now, though.

8. I am thankful for my work, who gave me a giftcard to use at Ghengis Grill for "Professional Assistants Day," which we used on said date last week!

9. I am thankful that we finally broke down and let Zachary cry-it-out because he has been sleeping so much better since, which means we have, too!

10. I am thankful that tomorrow begins the month of May-my favorite month! Spring is in full, bloom, my birthday, my first Mother's Day, and WE ARE GOING ON VACATION! More blogging on those events to come...

What are you thankful for?

My 25 (In Other Words, I Spent WAY too Much Time on This Blog and PLEASE Someone Waste Your Time Reading IT!)

No, this is not the "25 Random Things About Me" post that everyone started a few months ago, although I have done that...maybe I'll post it another day. However, if you're on Facebook at all, you've probably recently seen these Top 5 lists that people keep doing. Sometimes I see a list someone else has done and create my own top 5, just for the fun of it (and random memories).

So, in honor of my 25th Blog, I now present you with My Top 5 "Top 5" Lists: (BTW, it would not easily copy and paste over from Facebook, so I am painstakingly taking the time to re-create them. Yes, because I really have THAT much free time, haha!

5 Jobs I've Had:

1. Picture Framer-My very first job, Jessie's Art Gallery and Custom Framing. I learned how to frame pictures. It was awesome. Definitely not your typical first job. After my first week I had a bandaid on every finger and some with two from cutting myself on the glass. But I got a lot of cool things framed while I worked there. And they had a store next door that selled Beanie Babies, which at the time was a great way to blow my paycheck. I had to quit because we moved. :(

2. Winn-Dixie cashier-THE. WORST. JOB. EVER! Thankfully I only had to work it for a summer (the summer before I left for college). All I remember about it are the cheesy training videos they made you watch that were from at least the 80's and the dreams, or should I say, nightmares? Rolling conveyor belts full of hot dogs, beer, and icecream, rolling in my brain, over and over and OVER.

3. Daycare Center Assistant-Ok, this is a job I've had more times than any. First, I volunteered almost every day for a year at a daycare. Then, I worked another daycare one summer while I took classes. Take a group of kids to Chuck E. Cheese...go take a final 30 minutes later...UGH. I also worked at both preschools at my college. These were much more pleasant experiences, and those kids were absolutely precious!

4. Kindergarten Teacher-3 years. 1 bad experience, 1 good (well, except for being incredibly sick most of the year due to the growing fetus in my uterus!) ALL precious children, even little Jose who spat on me, cussed at me, and kicked me. I often had, still have a love/hate relationship with teaching. I'm sure I'll go back one of these days...maybe...

5. Accouting Assistant-My current job. Most days, I have NO idea what I'm doing. But, I do know a lot more about how to read a bank statement and can even reconcile your bank account, although I have no idea what that really means!

Top 5 Places I Have Lived:

BTW, this is not a list of ALL the places I have lived, only 5 that have had the most significance or importance in my life.

1. Mathis, Texas-This is the first place I ever lived, and also the first placed I lived after I got married. Same house, too.

2. Peterborough, England-This is the longest I ever lived in one place (7 years!)

3. St. Albans, West Virginia-The awkward teenage years occurred here. But I have so many great memories despite that, and I still keep in touch with a lot of the people.

4. North Augusta, South Carolina-Although I technically only lived here 1 1/2 years, it is the place where I graduated from High School AND my parents still live here, so we do return some.

5. Ooltewah, Tennessee-Obviously my current location. And where I plan on staying for a LONG, LONG time. It's also the place where Kyle grew up.

Top 5 Toys from My Childhood:

1. Barbie Camper-The best Christmas present. EVER. The camper came apart and transformed into a jeep with REAL seatbelts. There was also a REAL dinner table in the camper with REAL kitchenware. I would seriously give anything to have this back. Oh, and it was PINK.

2. My Little Pony Castle-I spent many hours playing with my ponies in this castle.

3. Puppy Surprise-How many puppies are there inside? There can be 3, or 4, or 5! Boo ya-I got ALL FIVE PUPPIES! I feel bad for the people who only got 3, they totally got jipped!

4. Sylvanian Families-Don't know if this is only an English toy set or not...they are small, figurines or different animals that made up different families in a community. Kinda like Richard Scarry books, but different.

5. Quints-These dolls were like 3 inches high, and no, you couldn't get jipped on this toy because everyone got 5, that's why they call them Quints, people! The best thing about this toy was when you gave each Quint his or her bottle (with REAL water) they would pee and the number they were (1-5) would show on their diaper. And it would be wet.

5 Movies I Grew Up Watching:

1. The Sound of Music-Only the best movie ever. Honestly, I learned to use the VCR as a child because of this movie. This was back when it was on 2 VHS tapes. As soon as the almost 3 hour movie was over, I'd rewind it and watch it again. Did I mention I was 3? I would love to have a daughter and name her Liesel, or Gretal.

2. Mary Poppins-Do we see the Julie Andrews theme? She is my idol! And Mary Poppins is a close 2nd. It is the perfect combination of childhood splendor and grown-up themes. I still break down like a baby at the end when Mr. Banks finally takes the children to go fly a kite. Seriously. I lose all control.

3. My Fair Lady-What can I say, I love musicals! Did you know Julie Andrews was the original Eliza Doolittle? But, Audrey Hepburn did a great job, too! Another movie that takes place in England, I could probably relate. But why was a 5 year old watching this movie and enjoying it?

4. Top Gun-This is my brother's doing. He was obsessed with flying and airplanes, and I knew Tom Cruise was doing something dirty in that bedroom, but I had nooooooooooo idea back then what it was! Oh, and I read today that the "girl" he was in the room with is now a lesbian. Wonderful.

5. Dirty Dancing-Okay, technically I was not allowed to watch this movie growing up, but I somehow found a way to sneak in when my older brothers were watching. Because nobody puts baby in the corner.

The Final 5....these were not posted on Facebook. I just made them up. So there. My Top 5...Yearbook Pictures!

1. Senior Year-Okay, this is actually probably the only good one I'm going to share. The rest are a joke.

2. 4th grade-Don't you love the big ribbon bow ON THE SIDE OF MY HEAD?!

3. 6th grade-Gotta love those big BLUE glasses. Yeah, I did, too.

4. Preschool/Kindergarten-Not really sure what "year" this was, because I was still in British schools then. But check out my right eye. Lovely, puffy red from my giant cornea scratch that has literally scarred me for life.

5. 5th grade-Yes, I am guilty. I took the scissors to my hair. What can I say? I wanted to be a hairstylist for a day.

And because I can't figure out how to delete a picture and it's LATE, you get a double shot of the bang trimming gone bad!

Happy Blogging!

Today I Wrestled an Aligator...

Yes, it's true, folks. I officially wrestled an aligator, and his name is Zachary Moses. You see, a few months ago my sweet, calm little baby disappeared and in return I was given a wild, baby aligator. Seriously, why do parents practically beg their children to hurry and learn to crawl, pull up, etc.? Don't they know that once this occurs your life will change FOREVER?! For example, giving a bath to Zachary=wrestling an aligator. Getting Zachary to sit still for a diaper change=wrestling an aligator. Getting Zachary to sit still for a diaper change AND clothes on=wrestling TWO aligators! Getting Zachary to nurse uninterrupted=THROW ME INTO THE SWAMP!

Seriously, trying to nurse Zachary these days is impossible! He is constantly doing one or more of the following: sitting up every .02 seconds; talking to himself, me, other people in the room, or his kitty cats; trying to pull up on me (sometimes by biting my shirt); sometimes just biting my shirt, or the chair arm, my arm, whatever he can get his teeth on; or sometimes he even will not lay to nurse, but insists on sitting up, facing forward to nurse, and then twisting his head so his mouth is angled correctly on the boob. Luckily, this still only takes about 10 minutes and he usually gets his full SOMEHOW in between all of that. Oh, and he also likes to stick his fingers in my mouth and feel my teeth.


This often makes me think back to the early days of nursing and how HARD it was. This week I checked out a book from the library called It Sucked and I Cried written by Heather Armstrong, who apparently is like, THE original Blogger or something. Anyway, despite her REALLY bad language (she grew up Mormom and then like, completely revolted after college) I am really enjoying the book, and can totally relate her on so many levels. I particularly liked the way she described the early weeks of breasteeding. (I will not describe it here, if you want to know, go read the book!) Anyway, we've definitely come a long way since those early days when all I wanted to do was sleep and why in the WORLD did I have to wake up every two hours to feed Zachary AGAIN when I knew it was going to hurt so bad I'd end up crying. Seriously, some days all that kept me from giving up was the fact that I am NOT a quitter and when someone asked me if I breastfed I was NOT going to say, "Well, yes, I tried, but it hurt too bad and he ate all the time so I quit." (Not to mention that I knew breastmilk was best for Zachary). But, just like they said it would, it got better. And now I'm wrestling an aligator 6 times a day. Well, really 5. Our bedtime feeding is the only one where he will just sit and nurse and be so content. They used to all be that way (well, once we got the hang of it and I wasn't in agony anymore).

In other news, Zachary has been pulling up in the bathtub since last week, and this week he decided it was much better to bathe standing up the ENTIRE time. And today he has figured out that he can pull up on other things besides the bathtub. Currently, he has just pulled himself up on the Cruise and Crawl. Thankfully he has not figured out the "cruising" part yet, but buddy, is he CLOSE on the crawling part. He no long goes backward, but can move himself forward, just only a few "steps" at a time, then stops and sits up. And then he does it some more. So I'm pretty sure we are going to have to ourselves get on our hands and knees this weekend and look for everything we think he can possibly get into because that day is coming quickly.

Well, it's time for me to go wrestle the aligator...

A Day In The Life

Sometimes being a stay-at-home-Mom is hard, and I work part-time, so I'm not even home 7 days a week! There are some days when it's all I can do to make it through the day, between horrible naps, grouchy teething, and fussy nursing, and clingy-baby-syndrome--sometimes all in one day!

Most of the time, though, it's a happy, busy, playful day, though sometimes quite monotonous. Here are some pictures of a typical morning at our house.

One of our favorite shows on PBS, Sid The Science Kid. We don't get cable, and sometimes that can get really boring. But PBS does have some cute, and even educational shows on. I'm not a big proponent of letting babies watch lots of TV, but I'm not one to never use it, either. This show is so weird and funny all at the same time and just makes me laugh a lot. Especially at the fact that there are only 4 students in the class who are all perfect angels...

Our messy house with toys EVERYWHERE. Oh, and Sugar, the kitty, bathing. Self-explanitory.

Laundry. Another story of my life. Who would think only 3 people (and one who wears a uniform everyday) could make so many dirty clothes?! Unfortunately, our couch often looks like this because we are always working on folding something, and I don't have the luxury of a big laundry room.

Zachary with his messy toys, watching Sid. What is not so typical about this picture is that he is practically laying on the floor, watching TV. Normally he is sitting up, scooting all around getting into things.

And there you have it--my typical, sometimes boring life. It took me a long time to realize that while there are days it's important to be at home and have these kind of days to get things done, it's also important (for my sanity's sake) to just get out of the house.

Some days, I just have to remind myself of these words, from a Trace Adkins song:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days

Hadn't gone by so fast.

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this.

Wordless Wednesday

Well, this Wednesday we will not be wordless, but next time we'll shoot for it.

Several of my blogger friends participate in Wordless Wednesday, but I'm not exactly sure where it originated in order to give credit. Anyway, it is pretty self-explanitory, but nevertheless, I will explain. You post a picture on Wednesday on your Blog that has no need of an explanation, hence Wordless Wednesday. Because, a picture's worth a thousand words, right? (Or is it a million? I can't remember...)

And I just realized that I typed WORLDless Wednesday every time above instead of WORDless Wednesday. Oh well, not as bad as signing my intials yesterday as EW.

Anyway, here is my WORDLESS Wednesday, with no further explanation!

Teething: The (Never-Ending) Story of My Life

Yes, it's true. We are teething, yet AGAIN. Since the beginning of March, Zachary has cut a tooth every 2-3 weeks, only he cuts just ONE tooth at a time. All the signs are there: not wanting to eat his solids sometimes, not nursing off of one side (which can get REALLY frustrating!), and the tell-tale (is that right?) sign: WAKING UP ALL THE TIME. Sigh...Zachary does NOT get fevers while teething, and he does NOT get nasty, runny, diapers, he just WILL NOT sleep unless he is being held.



So, after he cut his last tooth (that would be his 4th, the top front right) on April 15th, yes that's tax day, the busiest day of the year for me at work, we got a 4 day break of really good sleeping...and then it started all over again. By the way, shout out to Daddy for getting up with him all night when he cut that tooth so Mommy could get some sleep.



Anyways, last night I'd just had it. He woke up at 2:00 and would not go back to sleep, even after Motrin before bed, Orajel, and rocking for almost an hour. So, I put on my big girl panties and decided we were gonna let him cry it out. We have tried this before, but normally after 10 or 15 minutes I just can't take it anymore, because Zachary does not "cry" it out, he SCREAMS it out. Heartbreaking. But last night I felt it neccessary. So I laid him in his bed, told him it was night-night time, gave him his paci (which he really is not fond of at night when he's teething) and left. Of course he immediately begins screaming, so there's no need to turn on the baby monitor because we are literally in the next room and it sounded like we were in the same! So, I let him cry (scream) for 10 minutes, went back in, picked him up, let him clam down, gave him his paci, and then put him back to screaming (bed). This continued for about 45 minutes, and I didn't know how much more I could take because he was still screaming, not down to a wimper at all. But, I'd never stuck it out this long so I figured I better stick to it now.



Then, out of nowhere, the screaming stopped. I held my breath. For like, 5 minutes. Seriously. And I never heard him again. So I tiptoed into his room, put his blanket back over him (bless his heart, he was all turned around in his crib-does anyone else ALWAYS lay their babies facing a certain way?) and put his paci near him in case he wanted it later, and most importantly made sure he was still breathing after all that screaming (He was). And then I didn't hear from him again until 7:30 this morning for breakfast! Hooray-we survived our first REAL night of Crying (screaming)-It-Out. Now, what will we have in store tonight....? Luckily for me, Kyle has in-service all this week, which means he has class everyday from 8-5:00 and does not work his normal 4-12:00 (and normally way beyond that) shift. Which means, we get to suffer through this together this week! Say a prayer for us!

***Oh, and I have NO pictures to go with this post, because despite Zachary having 4 teeth he will not show them off long enough for us to take a picture of them. Maybe after tooth 5, which will probably be at least another 2 weeks...***

100 Days...

I was just looking at a calendar (while I was bored, pumping at work) and thinking about Zachary's birthday. I realized that in 100 days we will be celebrating his first birthday--how is that possible?! I know it seems like a long time still, but when 265 (or is it 266? I think leap year was last year....anyway) have already passed, it's not much!





This means I only have 100 days left to call my baby a "baby." After that, I'll have a toddler, a "big boy." This makes me sad.





This means in 100 days, I can "technically" stop nursing Zachary and give him cow's milk. While parts of this makes me happy (no more pumping-yay! no more nursing bras-double yay! [sorry, guys] it also makes me sad, because Zachary will no longer rely on me physically like he does now. Sure, he still will for other needs, but right now it's nice to know that only I can provide him with that and he is dependant on me constantly. I know I could keep nursing him for as long as I want, but it's not something I planned on doing past 1. Plus, who knows how long it will take to wean him....





In 100 days, I will probably have a walking child. YIKES. Those days of letting him sit in the bouncy for hours, just sleeping and playing, while they might have been very sleepless on my part, sure were blissful just watching him be so still and content.

Where, oh, where has the time gone?

Zachary (2 days old)

Things That Make Ya Go Mmmmm

So, I've had a rough last few days and am trying to stay positive by thinking of some things that make me happy, so here it goes!

1. Zachary's belly laugh-There is no sweeter sound than that. Well, that is until he says, "Mama," and then, "I love you," and then when he begins to pray....you get the picture!

2. Beautiful spring and fall days-I love just riding in the car on these days, listening to old music, and thinking about absolutely NOTHING.

3. My kitty cats, Cinnamon and Sugar-Even though they drive me CRAZY sometimes, I love it when we can get some quiet moments and just snuggle up and take a nap together. Or watching them be absolutely weird and crazy makes me pretty happy, too.

4. Friday night dates to Barnes & Noble-Kyle and I used to do this almost weekly when we lived in Texas and pre-Zachary. Now we don't get to because he works every Friday. But I sure do enjoy sitting in that big 'ol store and getting lost in a good book!

5. Dairy Queen Blizzards-Need I say more?!

6. SHOPPING-I mean, I am a girl after all. Although these days, it is much more fun (and less stressful) to go clothes shopping for Zachary. I hate trying on clothes! Speaking of which, I am going consignment sale shopping tomorrow night for him while Kyle puts him to bed--yay, nice break for me!

7. Disneyworld-Again, need I say more?

8. People Magazine-I know, some of you may think it's trashy, but for me, it's 10 minutes to not think about anything that's bothering me. Hey, and sometimes they have good articles in there!

9. Hanging out with People My Own Age-With Kyle's and my work schedule, I spend most of my evenings alone with Zachary. I love the kid, but sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk WITH...

10. Adding to the above thought, A Good Conversation-Not so easily done with an 8 month old.

11. Musicals-Nothing better than a cheesy movie full of cheesy songs to put a smile on your face (and a song in your head!) Favorites are The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, although Enchanted is becoming a new one!

12. Thinking Back on My Teaching Days....The Funny Things Kids Say-Quick Story:One day, one of my twins, Andrew, kept complaining he had to go to the bathroom. So, I'd send him and he'd come back a few minutes later, crying. This shenanigan went on all morning until I sent him one more time, getting quite frustrated. This time when Andrew walked out of the room he left crying, saying, "I have to poo and I can't wipe my butt!" At this point I was very thankful I was reading my class a story at the time because I immediately put my head behind the book and died laughing!

13. Rainbows-Or Animals taking care of there babies, the changing of the seasons. Any of these reminders that God is in control and His creation is amazing.

14. A Clean, Organized House-Simple thing, but I just FEEL better when the house is clean and things are where they are supposed to be. Sometimes I'm a little OCD about it.

15. Road Trips-Again, something Kyle and I used to do a lot pre-Zachary, and pre-Police Dept. I know lots of people hate riding in the car, but I think getting there is half the adventure. I grew up traveling a lot, so to me, it's fun!

16. Old People Holding Hands-There is nothing sweeter than seeing two elderly people who are still in love after all that time! It amazes me. I can only hope and pray for the same for me and Kyle.

17. Old Pictures-Looking back on the past can be embarrassing at times, but it is fun to remember those times. I know one day I will really treasure all the pictures we've taken of Zachary and remember the great times (and maybe some of the not so great AKA teething times we shared).

18. Good Deals-I have never been a great "bargain hunter" so to speak, but since we have become parents and a 1 1/2 income household, finding deals and saving money is essential. So it has become fun to see how much money I can save with coupons or when I find great deals!

19. Getting snail mail-In this technological world, no one has time to send "real" mail anymore. So getting something in the mail besides bills and junk is a treat! **Hint, hint**

20. Speaking of that technology...the Internet (& Cell Phones)-Some days I feel like they are my only escape to what is happening outside my little house. And, I hate to say it, but without it, I probably wouldn't be very good at staying in touch with friends. And I wouldn't have this Blog to write some happy thoughts to cheer me up for a bit!

Now, what are some things that make YOU happy?

Hoppy Easter!

Yesterday we celebrated Zachary's first Easter. He was very excited, I'm sure....Anyway, he slept in Sunday morning, so we rushed to get him ready in his Sunday Easter clothes (dress shirt, khakis, and his first tie!) so we could get to worship services on time, so we had to save pictures for after church.

After church we went to Mom-Mommys and Grandpas house for a family Easter dinner. When we got there, cousin Matthew and Zachary got their Easter baskets from Mom-Mommy and Grandpa and then (as best they could/would) posed for some pictures. The boys got matching outfits they could wear this summer on our vacation and Zachary got some new bath toys. Then Uncle Kevin "hid" some eggs around the yard so the boys could go on an Egg Hunt. Matthew kept finding eggs and "cracking" them, like you do with a real egg--so cute! Of course, Zachary needed Mommy and Daddy's help to find his eggs. He got some money for his piggy bank and some candy, which he shared with Mommy! Zachary also got an Easter basket from us: some bendable bunnies (which have made for great teethers!), some new blocks for stacking and, again, teething, and his first Bible!

Afterwards, we all went inside for a big Easter dinner: ham, green beans, baked beans, homemade macaroni and cheese, yeast rolls, coleslaw, deviled eggs (that were forgotten until after the meal--oops!), and peach cobbler for dessert....YUM...sorry, Zachary didnt get to eat any this year! He is just starting on some finger foods, like crackers and Gerber puffs, and some cereals, too. But it won't be long because that boy is eating!

He had his 8 month birthday Wednesday, and I took him to my nursing group and he weighs 19 pounds now! We can't get an exact measurement, but he is (we think) 28 1/4 inches long. Speaking of how big he is getting, Zachary finally has shown an interest in crawling and pulling up. He has been sitting up on his own for over 2 months now, and has been able to scoot around...backwards...if we lay him on his tummy. But this week he has been paerfecting getting from his bottom to his tummy without falling and spent almost the entire day yesterday pulling up on Daddy (notice I said Daddy, he didn't want Mommy to do it!) As soon as he did it, he would just giggle like crazy--he is so proud of himself! Another one of his new tricks is waving bye-bye. He has probably really been doing this about 2 weeks now, but I wasn't sure if he understood what he was doing, but now I know he knows! He even waved bye-bye to me last week before I left for work--so cute, but heartbreaking, too! Well, that is all. Hope you and yours had a great Easter, too!

Mommy and Daddy Take a Night Off

This last weekend Kyle was on his 5 days off. He only gets this "special" set of days off every 3 months (which means, 4 times a year). Otherwise, he ALWAYS works Fridays AND has court every Friday morning on top of that! Well, not this weekend! So, we asked Mom-Mommy and Grandpa to keep little Z so that Mommy and Daddy could have some special time to themselves. I told Kyle to plan something good, and he outdid himself!

Friday afternoon we took Zachary over to his grandparents house and when we left it started storming REALLY bad. It was actually some wind from a tornado that was sweeping through parts of TN (and I'm sure other places). So, off we go driving through near-tornado like weather to downtown Chattanooga and we arrive at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast, just as the storms are clearing up. I didn't really want to leave further from Chattanooga since I'm still nursing Zachary and didn't want to have any major problems come up that we couldn't get to him quickly! The B&B is in an old house, known as the Mayor's Mansion, and it was just beautiful! The room we stayed in was covered in floral wallpaper with high ceilings, and the bed was made into a canopy with the same material as the wallpaper. We got checked into the room and about that time we had pizza delivered for a night in with pizza and Marley & Me. May not sound very fancy for a B&B, but it was a perfect night in for us, with no interruptions. By the way, Marley & Me was good, but the book is SOooooo much better. I reccommend you read it!

















After the movie we ran out to a downtown coffee shop for dessert and then returned back to the B&B to relax in the 300 gallon bathtub--you read that right, 300 gallons! I'm glad we didn't have to pay that water bill because we ended up using it twice! So relaxing....I hope one day we can afford to get a big bathtub like that in our house!

Of course, we slept wonderfully that night (and surprising, Zachary did, too, at his grandparents!) and we woke up to have a special breakfast before we checked out. After we left, we went by the mall to finish shopping for Zachary's Easter basket and stayed and ate lunch at Red Robin (it's a great hamburger place that serves endless french fries-two of Kyle's favorites!). After lunch we rushed to go pick up our baby who we missed sooooo much, and of course, he was still taking his morning nap when we got there.

It was a wonderful weekend for Mommy and Daddy (and I'm sure Zachary had fun, too!) With mine and Kyle's work schedule, we don't get to see each other very much at all, and when we do, we always have Zachary, of course, so it was a special treat to get to do that.

Thankful Thursday

1. I am thankful for a week of pretty decent sleep. It's amazing how refreshed you feel when you're not up every other hour! We have had a pretty rough last 2 months, and it feels like we are finally having a turn-around. Although, we are working on tooth #4, so I'm pretty sure we've got some rough nights ahead!

2. I am thankful for Aunt Jamie who let Zachary borrow Matthew's lion. He has been riding that thing all week and LOVES it!

3. I am thankful for my little boys precious hands....he learned to clap this week! Sunday during worship, in fact! Ha! He thinks it is great and claps all the time....luckily for us he's not able to make much sound with it yet!

4. I am thankful for good authors...I have only recently jumped on the Bandwagon of Twilight....and I can't put it down! I absolutely LOVE to read, and am enjoying having good books to read (especially since Zachary has been napping well!)

5. I am thankful for my in-laws, who do soooooooo much for us, we could never re-pay them! They are celebrating 32 years of marriage today!

6. I am thankful that Kyle caught a burglary in progress recently...and earned a FREE day off! We are hoping to take advantage of that soon! I am also thankful that Kyle is on his 5 days off soon, and that it falls on Easter!

7. I am thankful I don't have to cook tonight! We are going to Kyle's Memaw and Papa's house for my favorite dinner-goolash!