10 things that make me HAPPY

My friend Emily sent me a challenge after she shared with us the "Ten Things that Make Them Happy." This is such a great idea and a way for us all to reflect upon our lives. My life is full of blessings, below are my top ten...

1.  Obviously – my BOYS!  I have always been in love with my husband (we have been together for 11 years this month!), but never knew how your heart can expand with someone else so special until I had Jack.  My entire pregnancy, I told myself that I was having a boy and my wish came true!  I can’t explain why, really, other than I saw myself more as a “boy’s Mom” and I really wanted to give Scott that gift of a boy to mold, play sports with and I selfishly wanted a carbon copy of my husband – which happened!  Coming home to both of them everyday makes my heart so full it is indescribable! **And not to exclude the rest of my wonderful family – you all make me happy, too! 

 

2.  COFFEE – most of you know how much I enjoy my Cup O’ Joe.  Lately it seems that it is the only thing that can keep me awake and give me the motivation to get through the work-day at 3:00!  Starbucks Peppermint Cafe Misto is preferred (ESPECIALLY the RED CUP), although I am hoping for a new Keurig coffee maker for my birthday (hint,hint) so looking forward to exploring other avenues for my PICK ME UP!  And yes, I am one of those people that can have a Venti triple-latte at 11pm and still sleep like a baby…

3.  My health – we have had a rough couple of years in our extended family with health problems (hopefully most behind us), and it has made me so grateful and aware of my own body and health.  I am really looking forward to re-vitalizing my family’s eating and wellness habits after this baby is born (sorry, I really am enjoying this 9 months of Doritos and doughnuts!) to give us all more energy and overall health.  Although I am in no way 100% satisfied with my “outer beauty” all the time, I feel so lucky to be healthy and strong enough to lift and play with my 33lb son and do all the things in life that I want to do – that matters more to me than weighing 10 lbs less or having the most toned arms.

4.  Cooking – I grew up with a Mom who honestly had a full dinner on the table EVERY NIGHT.  I will do my best to do the same for our growing family as this is extremely important to me.  I am a pretty laid-back mom, but Jack’s nutrition is one thing that I do tend to be anal about – keeping track of his fruit/veggies/protein/grains, etc.  I enjoy reading about food, watching people cook, etc. and find it very relaxing.  Luckily – neither my husband nor my son are picky eaters, so we have fun with it and I am currently obsessed with my Crock Pot…

5.  My girlfriends – Miami…my college years shaped so much about me as an adult and the biggest reason that I love that place so much is that I met 10+ of my best friends during that 4 years.  Our group of girlfriends is so strong – we all talk weekly, email daily, try our hardest to see each other as much as we can, and literally act like we are in college when we do.  I am lucky enough to live down the street from 2 of them (it has depleted, it used to be 4!) and we have a blast together.  I can talk to these girls about anything and feel so blessed to have them to lean on and to share my life’s happiness with. 

 

6.  My Blackberry – I know, terrible, right?  But I am serious – I have become so accustomed to having “information now,” I seriously don’t know how I did it without one!  I love relaxing in the bathtub at night and checking everyone’s Facebook status, checking our other blogs, or just emailing to catch up.  Amazing technology that truly does make me happy.

7.  Naps – I could do away with “sleeping in” if I was guaranteed an afternoon nap!  On the weekends, that is my preference when Jack goes down – and I am not one of those that can take a 20 minute Power Nap – I am talking a full 2 hours in BED nap!

8.  Dirty Martinis – Obviously not right now, but they are my drink of choice…and the “filthier” the BETTER!  :-)  But champagne is a close second…

 

9.  Robin Williams – He just makes me smile. 

10.  US Weekly – What can I say, I love my smut?!  Thursdays are great days in our house, because that is when it is delivered and the night that the minute I put Jack down, I head to my Jacuzzi tub (with a glass of wine, non preggs) with my US and escape to Hollywood.  Love it and it is seriously one of the best financial decisions that I have ever made.  :-)

11. Pregnancy – I had to add this 11th happiness.  Someone at work told me I just seem like a “breeder” and I think they may be right!  I have been blessed with 2 great pregnancies (fingers crossed) and quite frankly feel better about myself with I am with child!  I love the feeling of them moving inside of you, love the way that my body looks, love just the awesomeness of it all.  I hope to do it a couple of more time, God willing!

 

I definitely don’t know ten bloggers out there but the following are friends who might keep the blog-chain-mail thing going. I’d love to hear what makes you happy!

http://thebixlerfamilyblog.blogspot.com/

http://scottandstaceybowman.blogspot.com/

http://martinfamilyfive.blogspot.com/

http://thepeoplesrepublicofhilbry.blogspot.com/

http://thequirechronicals.blogspot.com/

http://theguths.blogspot.com/

 

Bring on the waddle

It has hit me – I am officially feeling large and in charge at 30 weeks.  The past few days have been the roughest in this pregnancy – feeling very “strained,” getting tired, always starving, and overall just crummy.  I am hoping that it is because I was in the car for over 11 hours last weekend (so worth it to see my Columbus ladies!!!), but I think that this may be the beginning of end!  I remember with Jack, my leg pain was so bad in the past 2 weeks that everyone was commenting on the terrible Daffy-Duck-like walk I had taken up…I was lovely on the eyes, I am sure. 

Braxton-Hicks contractions have begun, especially while at work, and the super-fun round ligament pain is shooting down my leg.  Awesome.  :-)  It is all more than worth it in the end, but the next 10 (hopefully) weeks might be pretty tough!  In terms of comparisons to my first pregnancy, I have not gained as much weight (about 5 lbs less at this point), but feel overall about the same in the way that I am carrying.  The baby is definitely moving higher and stretching his/her legs, as it has really been liking to elbow/knee/kick/punch me in the lungs this week…Cool for about 5 minutes and then just annoying! :-) 

BW2 is the size of a cabbage and weighs about 3 lbs this week!

Scott leaves for a work trip to India next Tuesday for almost 2 weeks, so we are starting to get very sad and Mommy is getting nervous about 2 weeks alone with a very active 2 year old…

Field Trips!

Consdering that it is so friggin' cold here, Katie has been doing a great job of keeping the boys entertained both indoors and out. She recently started a "field trip" schedule, and took the boys to the Planetarium last week and Jack to the Aquarium on Monday. She said that they did great and it looks like they had a great time. (and I have to admit that she is braver than me with venturing out to a museum with 2 toddlers!!!!)

Jack obviously learned some things, as when we got home, be was talking about "Astronaut...Jim Lovell," and the "Excellent Eyesight" that dolphins have - hilarious.

Diggin the Planetarium...

"It's Nemo's Daddy, Katie!"






We just love Katie...she has been such a wonderful addition to both our family and the Korbmacher's!

THANK YOU, KATIE-MOUSE!!!!

Frosties…

Jack and his cousins Lily and Sam built snowmen with Pop (Scott’s Dad) this weekend and they were SOOO into it, as you can see by the extensive facial decorations of cocktail weiner mouths, pepper ears, goldfish buttons, and Twizzler mouths.  The kids were very excited and proud to show off their “Frosties!!”

S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Scott has been having some back/shoulder issues lately, so Jack was kind enough to help Daddy stretch his muscles…

We aren’t sure how much good he did, but it was really cute!  “Stretch like Daddy…”

Snow Days…

Well, winter is officially here and with it brings frigid temps and lots of snow to Chicago!  Jack does love the snow, but since we don’t want to spend all of our time out in the temps, we have been trying to come up with some fun, creative things to do inside.

Luckily, we have all of his new Xmas toys to keep him entertained and last weekend I turned around and Jack had set this up.  Very cute and he was very into feeding all of his animals on his Elmo couch.  Good practice for being a big brother in 3 months!

We also had a “Nic Nic” (picnic)  last Sunday night and watched Madagascar 2 which he enjoyed with the fun music and “aminals.”  Not the most flattering picture of me, but what are you supposed to look like when at 6 months pregnant and in the dead of winter?  :-)

Then Jack got to work on cleaning up the dishes… 

This weekend will probably be more of the same with temps expected in the mid-teens…FUN!  I hope that the little guy finds us entertaining or it will be a LOOONG winter ahead!

Here's to 2010...

My hopes for 2010 are simple...

For Jack to continue to become a kind & happy kid, for the birth of our 2nd child to be smooth (and as painless as possible) and for him/her to be as sweet and as healthy as their big brother, to continue to relish and appreciate the "little things," to tell my wonderful husband why I am so in love with him every day, and to make a lot of FUN memories (and maybe even mix a few vacations?!).

We had a great NYE 2010 with our Chicago friends at the Tomlinson's house including 3 baby girls and Jack! He stayed up until 9:00 with the ladies and Scott and I made it until about 2:00...pretty impressive considering I am 6 months pregnant, I think! Thanks for a great evening of friends, chili, and Taboo - GIRLS WON!!!

Also - all of our Christmas/Holiday pics are posted on Picasa if interested...the link is to the right.