{pretty much perfect}

i.am.savoring.

today.

it has been pretty great thus far.

actually totally great.

after weeks and weeks of stressful chaos,

the skies are parting and i'm beginning to breath.

a bit.

still so much to do, but some major projects have been

tackled and completed. yay! i still have my nursing

license despite the hurricane hitting my testing center last week.

so, i have 40 hours under my belt instead of the required 15.

all is good. 

i had my quiet time on the patio this morning with a wonderful

devotion and a yummy cup of coffee.

while listening to my rooster crow.

laundry on the clothes line.

working in my pj's in the living room. with the

boys playing and reading around me.

music playing all morning.  no television.

a freshly cut lawn.

a sleeping dog.

and, a sleeping husband with a headache. :(

that part is not good at all. 

a playful kitty.

boys i can hear a room away playing legos.

and, giggling.

a pumpkin spice candle burning.

razorbacks with starting quarterback tyler wilson

playing at 6 pm.  WPS!!!!!

family coming over with pizza to watch said game.

heading out early in the morning for a final weekend

with summer.   our last hooray.  the smiles on the boys face will make

the crowd worth it.  {praying daddy gets to go this time}.

my fall calendar looks good. balanced. 

i've learned to say no.

and, i'm proud as terrible as that sounds.

countdown is on for new puppy, savannah.

cannot wait to get my hands on her.

i am feeling overly blessed.

overly happy.

overly content.

and, even though a to-do list that would

make any sane person cringe is still staring at

me.  i know the end is in sight.

my goal for getting everything under control:  to spend

more quality time with my family & friends both near and far. :)

{happies}

*waking up with a headful of sunscreen scented hair in my face

*despite the fact that I argued all night that ghosts were not in 

his closet like his brother told him when he was three, waking up

next to that sunscreen scented little body.  i inhaled him. 

*surprise breakfast of donuts and milk. {not for me unfortunately}

*my roosters crowing {i know that sounds so strange, but you should hear them!}

*my sweet dog as she lays at my feet as i have been working at my desk all morning

*noticing the fighting between my boys of summer may be settling down

just a bit....they may be acclimating a little early this year

*laundry in the washer and dryer

*carrots for breakfast. yes, i actually just typed that.  remember that

swimsuit i mentioned earlier?

*a quiet house for the moment. 

*looking at many blank days on my july calendar.  i am plotting.

think i want to take a road trip to see family.  missing them so much. :(  

*oh, and definitely that phone call received earlier.

{it's back!!!}

Another Happy Dance! You know how I searched high and low for this stuff last year. Well, I saw sweet Julie today in Wal-mart and I just happened to spy this! I gasped! And, I cleared them out. I did give Julie one bottle (they changed it from boxes to bottles this year).

I'm stocking up. When they restock. ;)

{happy}

i am burning my first christmas scented candle....hot spiced cider by colonial candle. ahhh...just to walk into an area that smells like that makes me feel good. That brand has come to be my very favorite....although i especially love their fall scent indian summer and pretty much burn it...... year round. and, i "adorned" the candle with some pretty ribbon and a brooch. fun.

i am very conflicted right now. i have friends who have decorated for christmas and it's killing me. not that i even could right now with all of the workload, but, i am a little green-eyed. but, i still have my fall stuff up and am making myself stick with it until thanksgiving. it's tough!

what a great thing to be conflicted about! if everything could be as difficult as that! ;)

addendum: cannot get angela's link to work?

{happies}

Noah's intense affection. Evan's random "I wuv you, mommy" several times throughout the day. There are not many things that even come close.

{happies}

the first fire in our fireplace!!!!! Okay, I'll be honest, it's a little smoky right now.....but, it will get better. What's a few open windows in November?

and, let's hope it's not 86 degrees tomorrow. :)

{happies}

taking ten minutes away from work to sit in the floor of my office to teach a little boy how to play a game of tic-tac-toe that no one else was interested in playing. so, i cheated a little (to his advantage, of course) and we played back to back games. over and over and over. he never quite got it; but he thoroughly enjoyed it. at least beating his mommy. but, i got it in ways he didn't even realize. ahhhhhhh..........

{happies}

when i scoop up evan in the mornings and he still fits perfectly in my arms. i can then look across the room and remember when noah did, although i don't let that stop me from scooping him up either. another moment i freeze into my heart.

{happies}

the boys laying on their tummies going through their Halloween loot, sweet trades between them, and all of the ohhhhs and ahhhhs. In an instant, it takes me back to my brother and I doing the same exact thing. It was the best part of the night.

Pictures and details of tonight will be posted later. :)

{happies}

I just tickled the boys awake. Noah, was far from thrilled. :) Evan laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. When I would slow it down a bit he would gasp for air while at the same time begging for more! There is nothing that sounds better than those breathless, belly laughs. To me that would be torture, but to a 4-year-old, pure fun. Obviously, Noah agrees with me.

Oxygen saturations have now returned to normal. :)

{a happy}

although my checkbook would strongly disagree.....i love holes in the knees of the boys jeans. particularly the ones handed down from n to e. those little jeans have traveled miles with each of them, adventures i have likely never known of and lots & lots of play; very well worth it.

note to self: pack away the little pair (denim with red stitching) e is wearing today. they are literally on their last thread. sweet little holey jeans. a happy, but, definitely a little sad.