Good company. Great conversation.

Monday:

Hurry to work. Busy, busy, busy bee at work. Rush to pick up my little lady and hubby. Then: spend time with my family, which includes my parents! Yes, I finally got to see them after all that insane weather and long wait.

R treated us to homemade bloody mary's and a team effort put a delicious dinner on the table (or our laps as the table only seats four). My parents came to visit and all though the visit was way to short I enjoyed it, even with the LOUD movie playing on TV and my daughter and sister vying for my attention as I am catching up with my Mom. 

Visits like this remind me of growing up with all EIGHT of us scattered through out the house. A lot of noise is becoming a thing of the past so, it bothered me slightly. I still can't help but welcome it because it is conversations I long to have with my family that I miss everyday. 

Tuesday:

Hurry to work. Busy, busy, busy bee at work. Rush to pick up my little lady and hubby. Then: spend time with my family, which includes my sister! Her and her new guy friend came over and cooked us dinner! I am still thinking about the creamy shrimp alfredo with yellow,orange and red peppers. What a great combination! They even grilled texas toast, one of my faves.

My little brother joined us too. We all sat in the living room and just relaxed. Aunt "Tacey" caught several laughs with E as they ran around the living room, riding stuffed animals and having the time of their lives. It warms my heart to see my sister spending time with E as I know she has really missed her.

And tonight it's just the four of us (which includes M). Down time to just relax is enjoyable tonight. Especially after a long day of:

Hurry to work. Busy, busy, busy bee at work. Rush to pick up my little lady and hubby.

Keep Loving. 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday in a flash.

Here it is Sunday night ALREADY! The weekend flew by, as usual and all though we didn't have much planned we've been busy. The last three days have been rather nice just hanging out together. Here is our weekend in a nutshell.

Friday: We picked up M and rented movies. Despicable Me 2 has been on our to-watch-list for awhile now. The Millers are HUGE fans of Gru, minions and the rest of the gang. We had a slumber party style movie night. A+ for Despicable Me 2! Cute, funny and family friendly.

Saturday: Chores, chores, chores. I look around now and wonder if I really did anything yesterday. I mean I know I did dishes, laundry, and tidied the kitchen…but you can't tell. R spent several hours outside fixing the heat blower in the car. Thank you so so so much. I can tell he accomplished his chores because my nose and fingers aren't cold when we're riding around. I am so glad he has an ambition to fix things himself.

We were able to sneak in a Christmas craft while E was napping. We decorated little Christmas tree cut outs with ribbon, stickers, sequins, pipe cleaners, etc. R even joined us too. His stuff always turns out great!

I squeezed in a little shopping trip at a resale shop in Muskegon. Aunt Kacey bought E some adorable clothes for Christmas. Thank you, Aunt Kacey! We really appreciate it and love the outfits.

Sunday: Today we had a little Christmas celebration with M's Great Grandpa. We watched Christmas movies, played games and at dinner. It was nice to see him, Gigi, Papa and Uncle B again and relax for the day.

I suppose I should ready us for a busy week ahead. I have a few more gifts to wrap and then Christmas preparation is complete.

Keep loving.

Sweet Surprises

I wasn't sure what to expect for my day of birth as last year was...well, less than great. But, of course, I kept my hopes up and why not!? It is my very own birthday. So, either way I planned on having a good day and celebrating my own way. And sure as shoot it turned out just as I had hoped. The last few days have been nothing short of great!

Sunday

I was still feeling a bit down (recovering from strep throat) so we took it easy the majority of the day. Ryan was SUPER Dad, cleaning, doing laundry, finishing projects around the apartment and playing with Edee in between. He even put her in her bright pink pool for some splash time. I relaxed and cleaned up a bit as well.

Ryan surprised me with gifts a day early. He bought me the striped maxi skirt I had been looking at for a couple weeks. And a top to go with the gray and white floor thing beauty. I'm in love with my maxi skirt. I wore it all day yesterday and when pajama time arrived I didn't want to take it off. Softest fabric EVER!

He also made me a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The best part was what he wrote on the cake. It was delicious!

My sister, Kacey, came over and made stuffed shells for dinner. I'm not sure her intentions were to make me birthday dinner but it felt that way. And it made me feel special that she wanted to come and cook dinner for us. Half of the shells were stuffed with meatballs and were smothered in cream of mushroom sauce. The other half of the shells were stuffed with cheeses and had a red sauce on top. I'm not sure which ones I prefer because they were both so tasty. Thanks for dinner sister!

Monday

A lack of sitter and a co-worker offering to take my shift for my birthday allowed for a very enjoyable, relaxing day with just Edee. We played, danced, watched cartoons and practiced walking. It was quite fun.

Once Ryan was out of work Edee went to spend time with Gigi and we were granted some much needed one on one time. I realized it was the first day in 5 days I had been without Edee. I felt kind of lost, actually. But, knowing she was in great hands allowed me to enjoy conversation and shopping with Ryan. We found some great deals at the GAP, our favorite, and I couldn't resist spending some birthday money on him and Edee too. Ryan looks great in his new shirt and Im dying to put Edee in the little dress I got her! I finally own a GAP scarf. Fall weather where are you?

A couple hours together was very refreshing.

Tuesday,
All though a little late our close friend Craig and his lady friend Laura came over with dinner and wine. He surprised me with a maxi skirt! Now I have 2! This one is black and white random stripes. Really neat. I am pretty excited to have another one! Dinner was excellent and we finished the night with Monopoly.

A few other sweet surprises:
My mother-in-law called and sang me happy birthday! It made me laugh and smile!
The card my Mom sent in the mail made me smile and almost cry. It was totally unexpected.
This year was full of little surprises and so wonderful! I definitely feel loved and appreciated!

Thank you all for the wishes and love these passed few days. I couldn't feel more lucky.

Keep loving.