Kids Say the Darndest Things

Kaley, Anna, and I went to McDonald's on Thursday. We drove through the Drive-Thru and I told the lady we wanted a Happy Meal. From the backseat Kaley says, "No. I want a Mean Meal."

Dreams Do Come True

Hello everyone- I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family (no- I haven't secretly been pregnant for the last nine months- that would have been tricky since Anna is 7 months old). It is our new-to-us 2005 Toyota Corolla. It used to be a missionary car but they were selling out their old cars to get new ones. We are really excited about it and you would know why if you read this. 

So if you would like to help us celebrate our new arrival- we accept cards, money, gifts, and if anyone wants to bring us over dinner that would be really helpful :) Just kidding! 

All I can say is- "HERE'S KALEY!"

Hair tip from Kaley

Your My Brown Eyed Girl

My "teacher" taught it to me

Counting My Blessings

I have been feeling a bit agitated about minor stuff in my life- people who litter (especially right outside our front door), this guy who honked at me very rudely because I didn't make a turn when he thought I should, and other such stupid things to get annoyed about. So.... to help remedy my noticing the bad and annoying, each day this week I am going to blog about something good. 

Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008- My eyes opened about about 7:30 this morning and as I tried to wake up my brain, I realized that I hadn't gotten up during the night to nurse Anna. Though I don't mind getting up with Anna, I did have a sense of renewal that a night of uninterrupted sleep provides. Then to top it off- Jed was in the kitchen making pancakes, eggs and orange juice. Oh no- that was two things I am grateful for- I better stop before I get carried away.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's gratitude moment. 

Monday, Sept. 15, 2008- I am grateful for creative, clean humor. 

You can see her website here.

Anita Renfroe performing- Don't Breathe.

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008- Okay.... I am thinking. Thinking. Still thinking. Here is something, as we were walking toward the car in our parking lot, I looked up at one of the trees and I saw a blue jay sitting on one of the branches. The blue feathers stood in stark contrast to the green leaves. It was a nice moment to stop and pause.

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008- I spoke a little bit early yesterday which is hard to imagine because I posted pretty much before I went to bed. But something I am really grateful for happened AFTER I went to bed. I was in bed, covered up with my favorite blanket (if you are a parent of a 3 year old you might call it a "blankie") and the girls were asleep in their room. All was quiet. The window was open and we had the fan sitting in front of the open window so a gentle breeze was coming in. I hope you are thinking, "That sounds great." But the best part is coming up. The air coming in was COOL. It wasn't muggy like it usually is but nice and cool. Fall is almost here and I am grateful. 

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008- As I sit here at the computer, typing this blog, Jed is trying to use all of his convincing powers to persuade Kaley to take a bath. Also after dinner, Kaley was asking him to pretend to be someone from Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus and they were on a search for a magic crystal or something. I am grateful for Jed and his usual quiet patience. Sure there are times he doesn't want to play but generally he takes a few moments to play with her or listen to her as she tells him how to go to work in the morning. So Jed, if you read this posting, I am grateful for you tonight.

Friday, Sept. 19, 2008- Ummmm...... for those of you who at one time in their lives had to do their laundry at a laundry mat or a communal laundry area, I want you to think back to that time. Do you remember making sure you had enough quarters to clean your clothes or realizing you were missing a sock once you are already home? At our last apartment, even though we had two washers and two dryers right next door to us and I was able to do our laundry fast, we still had to share. We now have a washer and dryer in our apartment and I still haven't gotten over how great it is, even though we have been here for a year. Gratitude moment: our own washer and dryer (sidenote: I am not even doing laundry today).

Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008- Here is my last gratitude posting for the week. By lunchtime I was sure about what I was going to post about. LEFTOVERS!!! Last night, Jed and I went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant and we had some leftovers. I absolutely love leftovers- a lot of times I think it tastes better the next day. I love having something yummy to eat really quick. And my sesame beef was really really good.

BUT... later in the day two random acts of kindness restored my confidence that there are nice people about. So I wanted to tell about them also.

Incident #1- Kaley and I were standing in line to get an ice cream sandwich right near the Lincoln Memorial. The lady in front of us asked the ice cream lady if she had any water for sale. The ice cream lady explained that she had just ran out and explained that the concession stand (and she pointed where it was) had bottled water. Anyways- the man behind us in line spoke up and said, "I have an unopened bottle of water if you want it." So nice.

Incident #2- We (Jed, Kaley, Anna, myself, and our double stroller) were trying to get on the Metro. We were at a busy stop and as we were approaching the train to get on, another man was also getting on. He very kindly and graciously (meaning he was really polite about it) let us go first. We maneuvered ourselves and the double stroller on to the train (remember now, it was a busy stop so there wasn't a lot of room to be squeezing our stroller on) and as I looked back, I could see the man's hand in the door trying to keep it open. Unfortunately, he missed the train! I wanted to yell, "WAIT!!!! Stop the train. The nice man needs to get on ."

Personal note to myself (and I guess you since you are reading it. So actually it is not a personal note at all- it is just a note): Janelle, when you are getting annoyed and weighed down by stupid things- look back at this posting and remember to look for the good. It is there.