twenty excuses

For my blogging comeback I thought that I would share all the wonderful excuses I could give you as to why I haven't blogged in a month.  The following are twenty things I've been doing instead of blogging:

1. Supervising my 4-year-olds double dates (with an older woman). And enjoying some yummy frozen yogurt at "Spoon Me" with great friends.

2.  Watching this little guy change every single day.

3.  Having fun with girlfriends. I love spending time with these ladies!

4.  Going on a field trip for preschool.  I love Parker's preschool class.  He is so lucky to have two of his best buddies in class with him.  Parker is such a good student.  His teacher tells me every time I pick him up how good he and his friends are.  I feel so blessed that Parker is a good boy and that he has good friends.  (Let's hope that lasts through the teenage years!!)

5.  Spending time (six hours) at Primary Children's Hospital with Cooper. He ended up being sick for 2 weeks with Bronchiolitis accompanied by a Restrictive Airway Disorder (considered Asthma in older children). We are hoping this was a one time deal that we will NEVER have to deal with again. It was such a hard couple of weeks.

6.  Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with my three boys (and Tim). My boys loved their "Hulk" t-shirts that Grandma Patty gave them.

7.  Going to Payton's Parent-Teacher Conferences and hearing about how well he is doing at school. We are so proud of him. We also loved that Payton got to be the Star Student at school this month. It was fun to celebrate Payton. He is such a good student, a responsible child and a fun BIG boy (I wrote "little" boy and he got mad. He made me change it to "BIG.") We LOVE having him in our lives and feel so blessed that he is such an easy, well-behaved, kind, loving son!

8.  Training for this...

9.  Watching Payton play with his loose tooth until he finally lost it on Wednesday, March 25th.

(BEFORE-it looks like his tooth is gone, but it's just pushed forward.  

His new tooth was already growing in behind it.)

(AFTER - He loves his new gap in his mouth.  

It's amazing how fast his permanent tooth is shooting out from behind.)

10.  Cooking.  I love these yummy broccoli, cheese omelets.


11.  More cooking.  I made these Petite Turkey Meatloafs with Skinny Garlic Mashed Potatoes.


12.  Loving Payton & Parker's beautiful artwork that I always display on the garage door that you can view in the kitchen.  It's so great to enjoy the artwork for a week or two and then replace it with new artwork. Once I take it down it usually goes in the trash, but I'm always grateful that we got to enjoy it instead of just saving it in a box!


13.  Being harassed because of this...


14.  Having fun with friends making edible playdough.

15.  Saying Goodbye to Tim's Great-Grandma Hull. She was 97-years-old and led an amazing life. It was wonderful to spend time with family at her funeral and learn more about her.

16.  Having an awesome night out at the Jazz Game with friends. We loved being able to go down on the floor afterwards and enjoy the excitement. We also got to go to a reception with Greg Miller, Randy Rigby and Andrei Kirilenko. It was an awesome way to end an amazing game!

17.  Baking. My new favorite recipe is black bean brownies. Yum!

18.  Missing my husband.  This cartoon sums up his new job.

19.  Cherishing every second I have with these little people!

20.  Enjoying the journey.  I've spent a lot of time reflecting this past month.  After two deaths in our family, Cooper's illness, and feeling crazy with the busyness of life, I've really tried to slow down and enjoy each day; each moment.  Don't I look like I'm enjoying life?  (Payton was having some fun with the camera.)  I'm really trying hard not to sweat the small stuff and enjoy everything and everyone around me...including myself!