52 Weeks of Happiness Week 46

Finding out!

We had the big ultrasound on Friday afternoon, and I've got a baby with a healthy heart and organs and a great size (10 oz) and everything. THIS made me ECSTATIC. Forget happy, I was on cloud 9 with this! Then we found out we were having a GIRL!

I was SO anxious (in a good way) to find out...so nervous to make sure I was growing a healthy baby, and SO ready to do some shopping. Even with another boy, that baby was going to have NEW clothes. I am the baby, so I think the second child deserves lots of wonderfulness that's new as well. :)

Here's what I went out to buy just right after we found out to celebrate. Notice the lack of pink. :) Hot pink is a no-no, but I can even get overloaded on regular baby pink. But purple, I'm ALL ABOUT!

Happiness Update

So here's the thing. I'm falling behind in my weeks. I WILL go 52 weeks, but the pressure I'm creating to do it weekly is now having the opposite effect. I have had a stressful month.

A huge assembly for my students to perform Spanish songs.

A fever/cold/virus/stuff for my poor 2 year old for a week. And a mild case of impetigo to boot (skin infection) that we are finally treating.

And it's January. Which means it's the great post-Christmas let down and it's grey outside and it's cold and YUCK. Always hated this month. Still do.

So, I haven't posted because it's much more stressful than it is happy. Defeating the purpose completely.

I'll post in whatever weeks I want, but won't pressure myself to do it "on time" anymore.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 45

This week I went back to school after the break. It was three days, but they made me so very tired. Telling people about the new baby was wonderful and cushioned the blow a bit, but one day I became the recipient of a very lovely random act of kindness.

A friend of mine, who I know through blogging and facebook, and I have been corresponding over the past two years a lot. We have children 9 days apart, and have been able to help each other through our parenting journey. We both nursed for a long time, wanted our babies to have the best home-made baby food, and all sorts of other things in common.

ANYWAY, she's been a blessing. And Thursday morning, I walked into my office area and there was a box from 1-800 Flowers on my desk. It was a pail and a kit for growing sunflowers, from my friend! Completely out of nowhere, completely because she just wanted to be a friend and said it would be fun for me and my son to do together.

Picture to come!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 44

This past week? TELLING.

Telling people we're having a second baby brought a LOT of happiness. I do not like to make big announcements, but Facebook allows me to feel like I'm not being so "look at me," since this kind of announcement is expected and greeted happily there.

We're 16 weeks and so very excited! I've always dreamed of being a mother of two. I have one amazing, beautiful, wonderful child, and I can't wait to get to know my new little bean.

No picture this week. Just joy.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 42

My sweet guy's SECOND birthday was Saturday!

We had friends and family celebrating with us, and it was lovely. We are so happy and lucky to have so many wonderful friends who want to celebrate our 2 year journey with our guy. Here's to the third year!

We had a circle theme-so we had circle food and decorations. Simple and sweet. And, I swear, our child turned two and he started talking in three word sentences. Wow. So big.

Happy birthday, sweet baby boy!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 41

Putting up my own tree!!

Hubby LOVES Christmas. Call him Clark Griswold.

He put up 3 trees over 5 feet tall, and in addition, we have 5 other small 2-footers. He likes trees that coordinate and are artsy. I like a tree full of years of sentimental ornaments. I'll proudly put all my son's homemade ornaments up til there is no more room. I proudly display my numerous wedding-type ornaments (since we have a Dec. anniversary, we have many from 2008!) for many years to come.

So, here is MY tree. Complete with a hodge-podge of ornaments that mean a lot to me.

NOW it's Chistmas!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 40

This past week was lovely because DECEMBER arrived!

I love December. It's when my son arrived two years ago, and three years ago when I made the promise of a lifetime to my hubby. Not to mention that there is nothing more magical than Christmas anyway!

So-you really know it's the season when you have decked the halls (at least started to!) and you have a fire going. With a two year old, this Christmas will be incredibly magical, and I look forward to everything about it! His birthday is less than 2 weeks away, and I can't wait to celebrate the season!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 39

Officially way behind. Wish i were better with keeping this up--and I still want to, I just haven't found the time to sit down with it. Even now I only have a few minutes, so here it is. Quickly. :)

Two weeks ago was Thanksgiving. But the best part of that weekend were the three days that followed. I had been sick with the stomach bug, but felt well enough to eat Thanksgiving dinner, but the final three days were spent watching Christmas movies and decorating. And a lot of sitting. We got new furniture so that felt really good, too. It was just good to be home.



Hooray for Christmas decor!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 38

This past week I had a burst of energy on Tuesday and got a ton of mundane things done. Laundry, dishwasher, cleaning, organizing, cooking, and the best part? Baking.

Betty Crocker has these mixes out right now in the holiday aisles at Target, and one was a Snickerdoodle mix. i was going to brave these anyway this year and make them, but I decided to go for the quick and easy mix, since it's still better than store-bought. They were delish!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 37

A clean closet.

I have REALLY put off changing my closet over to cold weather clothes this year. And I just am HORRIBLE at putting away clean clothes. Laundry? No problem. Folding? I got it covered. But I hate putting away laundry!

Well, mother-in-law took our sweet toddler for most of the weekend and hubby and I have come leaps and bounds in the past 4 hours. He's cleaning out a back room to make into a play room, and I'm working on the tragedy that is my closet.

I wish I had a before shot, but this actually is pretty good for me:



Procrastination leads to dread, and I have procrastinated on this for over a month. So finally, hours of work are OVER and I have a nice, winter-ready closet!

Someday I will have a big enough closet that I won't have to go through all this. :)

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 36

I have had way too many other things on my mind other than my commitment to 52 weeks of happiness, but I'm here now!

This week, I'm proud to say I don't have a picture from this past week.

I was asleep.

I've had two weekends of company (great company, but still.), and it just takes extra energy. This past weekend, with the time change, my hubby gave me the gift of that extra hour of sleep. I really, really needed it. A lot of moms of toddlers and young children don't really get that extra hour of daylight savings time.

But my husband gave it to me. It was really, really necessary, and made me really, really happy.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 35

Paul Simon.

Live.

It was AMAZING.

One of my all time favorites came to Memphis for his new tour, and even though it was 45 degrees, on the Mississippi River, in an OUTDOOR amphitheater, I simply just dressed appropriately and wasn't too cold.

Oh, it was magic!! Kodachrome, 50 ways, Graceland, Here Comes the Sun, The Only Living Boy in New York, Sound of Silence, and Mother and Child Reunion to name a few...

Incredible music. Incredible experience.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 34

It's Tuesday. WAY late for the post, but I'm here.

I'm late because I haven't sat down to upload a picture for this week, so I'll publish this now, and stick a picture in later...

But for this week, it was organizing my hubby's 30th birthday weekend.

On Friday night, his best grad school friend came in from Chattanooga to visit. That was the biggest surprise of the weekend.

Saturday night was the big surprise party. We went to a new (to us) restaurant and had about 12 of his friends there. Balloons, a photo guest book, pictures spread all over the table from birth to a few months ago, a few presents here and there, the best cupcakes in Memphis, and lots of laughs.

It took up my whole week, and I loved every minute of it.



It's so easy to do something like that for someone you love so much.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 33

Hubby was inspired by the cold weather and (finally!) a free Friday night for a date in-house.

He moved the TV outside, we made a fire in the fire pit, had a bottle of wine to share and pizza. We put on a scary movie - "Paranormal Activity" -- which was fine. Not too terribly scary (yay!) but enough to whet hubby's appetite for scary movies in October.

It was so much fun! Loved cuddling under 4, yes, 4 blankets.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 32

This week's happiness is brought to you by a good ol' cup of tea.

A FUN cup of tea at that.

I LOVE tea. Iced, hot, green, black, white. Fruity, floral, spiced.

I dearly love Jasmine green tea, and this was given to me a while back from my in-laws. The tea starts out in tiny balls, as seen here...



and within about 5 minutes, expands to the freshest, most beautiful tea leaves you have ever seen in your life.



BLISS!!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 31

This week, I thought I'd post something that happens every week that makes me feel wonderful.

We have a small house, and it gets messed up pretty easily. A toddler can take a toll on a house, and even with part time work, I can't keep it straight.

So we have a little weekly present we give ourselves. A housekeeper. This is what our son's area looks like most of the time...



Messed up books, toys strewn everywhere.

But for a few moments in each week, it looks like this.



I love those few moments!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 30

I can't even describe the happiness I had this past Saturday night. The only wrench thrown in was that I wasn't able to have a date night with hubby, but it turned out to be exactly as it should have been. I took one of my closest friends to see my VERY favorite musical of all time...Les Miserables.

When I was 8, my parents took me and my sister to see the 3 hour long heavy musical. They wondered if I was too young.

Literally, I was on the edge of my seat and didn't want to blink to miss a moment.

The music has captured me since. I saw it again when I was 10, then 15, then 20, and not since. It had been so very influential and beautiful to me, that I cried a little more each time I saw it. By the fourth time (and this past Saturday), I cried off an on (through the entire production) as soon as I heard the first notes. It's a part of my childhood that has grown with me and I have taken in my heart for 20 plus years.

The 25th anniversary showed many set changes, but the music still rang as beautiful as the day I remember and first saw it. Song after beautiful song, I am truly entranced.

Words could never do justice to what the music does to my soul, to my heart. I burst with its with beauty and the release I feel from the tears I cry is just a bonus.

Here is the marquee for this week's picture.



THIS was bliss.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 29

This week, on Tuesday, I had a few minutes between work and picking up my little guy. As you know, I love to read, and love a bargain. There are three, yes actually THREE used bookstores I know about, and I went to check them out.

First--Goodwill books. Pretty good selection, actually. Great prices.

Then, Book Traders. A little higher prices, but still a fraction of the price. I bought 2 books here. (and snapped the photo below)

Finally, close to the preschool is a place called the Book Depot. The most expensive at about half the cover price. Best selection of all.

Oh how I loved my used bookstore excursion!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 28

This past Thursday (and all week, actually), Memphis encountered an incredible snap of fall weather.

It gave us a tiny preview into the season of orange, yellow, and red leaves, pumpkin spiced goodies, Halloween, and Thanksgiving! What a lovely preview it was.

I'm working on training for my fourth 1/2 marathon benefiting St. Jude in December. I can't handle running in hot temps outside. My lungs don't like it, and I don't like being far away from water. I love the treadmill when I can run in the cool inside and have water at any given moment.

But I do love running outside when I can handle it. Thursday, I ran after school (which happens to be 12:30 for me!) and it was lovely. I did 3 miles, and enjoyed being outside with the trees, sun, and breeze again. I take my phone so I can see how long I have gone (GPS on phone), so somewhere in the middle I decided to snap a pic of this great moment.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 27

Late again, but I was on vacay in Hardy. So that's my excuse this time.

I'm trying to find little things that are new to this blog that make me happy, but the truth is, the same things that make me happy before make me happy this time.

Plus, right now, I am tremendously stressed about a lot of upcoming things. And I've tried half of my life (literally) to really find ways to calm down. I'm not sure why, but nothing has TRULY, TRULY worked.

Sigh. ANYWAY, even if it didn't create complete serenity in me, I will always be moved and more serene than before when I am near water.

This weekend we took a family trip to Hardy, AR, to my MIL's house. We took a pontoon boat ride once, and I snapped a picture of all the moving water behind it. The sound, smell, feel, and sight of water seems to speak to me. I'm not always sure what it says, but it reminds me of a place I can find within me that, well, maybe helps me go with the flow a little more.



May you have peace like a river, too.