Sweet Nothings & Random Thoughts

My intern is gone today and I'm selfishly upset about it. He unfortunately had a death in his family and will be gone for the next two days. You mean I actually have to make copies, respond to emails, run errends and return phone calls myself? What? With all the bitching and moaning I've been doing about this intern and his lack of common sense, he seriously does so much for me and I, like a jerk, don't realize it until he's gone. I plan to do something nice for him when he comes back and let me him know how much I appreciate what he does for me on a daily basis (in a non-creepy way). I'm open to suggestions on how to do this (in a non-creepy way).

I also got in a fight with my husband last night. Nothing major or anything, just a little spat. And it was my fault, which is so hard for me to admit, but it's true. I even admitted it was my fault and said I was sorry, so we're fine now. It all started because Luke was checking out houses online. The housing market around our area is dirt cheap for HUGE houses that typically have a sizable amount of land associated with them. Example: 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home. Fully finished. 4 acres of land. All hard wood floors, yadda yadda yadda, some other nice stuff too, goes for $135,000 - $175,000. For those that don't know squat about the housing market, that's dirt cheap right there (why I just mocked Larry the Cable Guy, I don't know, but it just works because that's how folks talk in Wisconsin).

Long story short, Luke thinks it's possible for us to buy a house and I was being really negative about the whole thing. I get nervous when we talk about spending large sums of the money we've worked hard to save. But, naturally, it makes sense to invest that money into a home and some land. DUH. In hindsight, I understand why he got frustrated with my negative attitude. And I get it, we should consider it and we most likely will. I think I was just negative because both boys were "in a mood" last night (aka - didn't take good naps at school or daycare) and there were a million things to get done around my house. Had Luke approached me after the kids went to bed and had I finally had a chance to sit down and relax, the conversation would have been much different.

I also plan on getting hubs something to show how much I love and appreciate him. I love that he wants to grow and achieve and get a home and is thinking about the future for our family. Why was I being so negative?!?! How crappy of me.

Basically the point of my conversation today is that I need to appreciate the people in my life a little more. I need to slow down and smell the friggin' roses (literally and metaphorically).

So to get things started on the right foot, here are five things I'm grateful for today:

1. I got to spend the morning with my children. They drove into work with me and my mom picked them up to take them for the day. I got to hold them, kiss them and hear their voices for longer than a normal day. It was fantastic.
2. My husband already said "I love you" to me 3 times today. And meant it.
3. I got to spend quality one-on-one time with my boss talking about important issues and constructive ideas, rather than rushing through and not having his full attention. Seriously priceless - His insight is amazingly helpful and useful for professional growth.
4. I remembered my niece's and brother's birthdays and am sending them little cards and gifts in the mail today!
5. I have amazing friends. 

I will also end with this quote I came across in my readings this week:

Lisa Jackson, "To be a strong woman, you don't have to give up on the things that define you as a woman. Empowering yourself doesn't have to mean rejecting motherhood, or eliminating the nurturing or feminine aspects of who you are."

Amen, Lisa. Amen.

My Cup Runneth Over

This story stems from here.

I couldn't sleep last night after hearing this story. A man killed his own young daughters. His own flesh and blood. His own children. My mind cannot comprehend this and my heart is refusing to accept it. Tears swelled my eyes the moment my husband told me this story yesterday. People, this is just too much.


The policy chief of River Falls was quoted saying in his 34 years with River Falls, he has never witnessed a more unimaginable crime, nor has he ever dealt with a crime of this caliber.

I could go on and on about the tragedy of this event and I know most of you can agree this is completely awful.

If you're a mother like me, the thought of losing even one child is something I cannot ever fathom. And this mother lost all three. And so, my cup runneth over for this mother, her family, the friends of these three girls, and the community of River Falls, Wisconsin.

It is River Falls Days this weekend (town festival). Our family will be attending and you can bet we will be donating funds to this mother for her loss.

Some days I just can't bring myself to watch the news - To see the tragedies taking place in this world. To see man kind's hate, rage, vengeance, especially if it is against young children. Today is one of those days.... T.V., radio, and electronic silence in honor of these three angels.

Weekend Fluff.

I don't know about you guys, but our weekend was amazingly awesome. We spent so much time with family and friends and best of all, each other, and everything felt right in my world.

Friday my parents had Jacob (our youngest) for the day, then they picked up Colton (our oldest) from preschool, which was a surprise for him, he loved it. They then treated us all to dinner at Pier 500, which is this amazing restaurant on the St. Croix River. It's your typical American restaurant - Indoor and outdoor bars with lots of indoor and outdoor seating. Outside is more casual and inside is fancy. There just so happened to be a carnival right across the street too, so we took the kids over there after dinner for some fun and rides. Needless to say, everyone was pooped out when we got home - We were all in bed by 9:00 PM!

Saturday morning I was up at 6AM and went for a run - 4 miles was enough for me, it was already so hot and muggy! The kids were still sleeping when I got back, so I showered and started breakfast, french toast and sausage, YUM! And strawberries and bananas too... A trip to Target and a little outdoor playtime outside completed our morning. We took a trip to Stillwater, Luke got a new cell phone, then we went home, had lunch, took naps, then were off to a birthday party for our little cousin Eli. The birthday party was SO FUN - The kids swam, played in the sandboxes, went down slides, played on swings, jumped on a trampoline, went on a hayride and watched fireworks - Needless to say, everyone was pooped out when we got home!

Sunday was a lazy bones day - We all took naps - The kids slept for 5 HOURS!! Mommy and Daddy slept for 4 hours and we stayed in the air conditioning all day. I did a little cleaning and made dinner around 6:00. The kids were back in bed by 8:00 PM and Luke and I stayed up and watched The Dark Knight. I'm terrible at staying up to watch movies - I have good intentions, but I typically end up falling asleep on Luke. Last night was no exception.

I hit snooze this morning about 5 times, Monday mornings are SO TOUGH! I find myself conflicted every Monday morning... Should I quit? Become a SAHM? Then I get to work, start rockin' away at my emails and phone messages and realize this is awesome too - My job. My career. My work peeps. It is important to keep things in balance.

What was the highlight of your weekend??? I'd love to hear...


xx