A good perspective...

I have always found this saying to be inspirational and a reminder to keep things in the right perspective. Its too easy to get caught up in the little things in life and forget about what is important. This helps me remember...

Remember always that you are just a visitor here, a traveler passing through. Your stay is but short and the moment of your departure unknown.
None can live without toil and a craft that provides your needs is a blessing indeed. But if you toil without rest, fatigue and weariness will overtake you, and you will be denied the joy that comes from labour's end.
Speak quietly and kindly and be not forward with either opinions or advice. If you talk much, this will make you deaf to what others say, and you should know that there are few so wise that they cannot learn from others.
Be near when help is needed, but far when praise and thanks are being offered.
Take small account of might, wealth and fame, for they soon pass and are forgotten. Instead, nurture love within you and strive to be a friend to all. Truly, compassion is a balm for many wounds.
Treasure silence when you find it, and while being mindful of your duties, set time aside, to be alone with yourself.
Cast off pretense and self-deception and see yourself as you really are.
Despite all appearances, no one is really evil. They are led astray by ignorance. If you ponder this truth always you will offer more light, rather than blame and condemnation.
You, no less than all beings have Buddha Nature within. Your essential Mind is pure. Therefore, when defilements cause you to stumble and fall, let not remorse nor dark foreboding cast you down. Be of good cheer and with this understanding, summon strength and walk on.
Faith is like a lamp and wisdom makes the flame burn bright. Carry this lamp always and in good time the darkness will yield and you will abide in the Light.

Dhammavadaka

Current Shenanigans Part II

Today both of my babies were home sick while I had to be cooped up in an office working my butt off to complete work so that I would not have to do it at home! :( It's no fun to have sick kids and even less fun to not be able to stay home and take care of them. But I am thankful that their loving daddy and aunt Sammie were able to care for them so I could rest assured that they were well cared for! I am hoping they both wake up feeling much better and Mady is able to go to school, she gets so bummed when she misses.

Currently Chance has been growing and growing and growing. When I got home from work today I told my sister, "Gosh it looks like he's gotten bigger!" Ha! But I wasn't really joking, I swear he seems to get bigger and bigger and he continues to do new things which is incredibly fun to watch! He has been rolling over and reaching for toys, and of course no one really cares about any of that but ME! ;) But lets pretend you care too! hahaha!

 Chance recently learned how to take his sassy (our word for pacifier) out and successfully put it back into his mouth. He does this quite frequently!

Another thing he does quite frequently is get annoyed if Mom gets in front of his view of the TV to take a picture when he is trying to watch Baby Einsteins or Curious George! ;)

And he also insists on holding his own bottle! This is quite funny because he gets so upset if you move his hands, even if his "holding" the bottle is pushing it out of his mouth. This little guy is definitely strong willed! (Please pay no attention to the hardly out of season Santa bib! It only adds character!)

Chance has also begun to absolutely ADORE his big sister! It is the cutest thing ever! He hears her voice and he will look around for her, she can make him smile at the mere sound of her chipmunk voice, and if he is crying she is now able to not just soothe him but also entertain him. It is just so sweet to see how much they love each other and how much little brother already looks up to his big sis! I took some photos of them when they were both sick laying in my bed.

Chance yells, "SISTER!! Pay attention to me!!"

 This one cracks me up! Chance is completely uninterested in his sister's crazy squeals!

Dinner time has also been a lot of fun around our home because Chance has begun to "eat" rice cereal (meaning put cereal in his mouth so that it can be spit right back out). He loves sitting with us at dinner time like he is a big boy!

And Mady has begun to take great pride in being my helper at dinner time! She really likes to help set the table and bring down the plates and drinks. It's sweet that she likes to help and great to see her feel good about contributing to the family.

A picture is worth a thousand words, that's all I think when I see this photo! Hahaha! :)



In other big news Madyson lost her first tooth!! That was HUGE! I will have to post pictures later to show what the tooth fairy brought! ;) Soccer sign ups are currently taking place by our home so Mady will finally start playing soccer! I could not be more excited about that! You know I am going to be that loud, annoying, overly intense cheering (but only positive cheering!!) mother on the side lines!!! Hahaha and I couldn't be more proud to have that job!

My sister April and her family are coming to visit and stay with us in just a couple of weeks!! We could not be more excited about that since we haven't seen them for a looonnggg time and Derek and I will both be taking time off to enjoy their visit!! But I am also still working on organizing that spare room (ugh!).

And lastly I have begun to plan Madyson's 6th birthday party which is coming up in April! ;( Goodness, I have realized I have a harder time with my babies growing up than I do with me getting older! Weird?! Well, anyways, she is going to have a Hello Kitty birthday party (her pick) and I have begun to plan and get my creative juices flowing. This is a big year for her birthday, she is a BIG kid now and will have a real birthday party that does not just involve family but also school friends! :) How exciting for her and how fun to plan!

So that is enough rambling for one night, hope it wasn't too incredibly informative and boring! Here is some food for thought for you! It's from a blog I recently started following. The author offers daily, or nearly daily, little pieces of encouragement and things to think about. I have found it to be quite inspiring: http://drcrew.blogspot.com/

It is our mind that creates the kind of life we live.

If we think positively we will transform our life accordingly. Everything starts from within, from the most simple action to the greatest achievement.

We cannot always have control over our external circumstances, but we can control our inner world of thoughts, where everything starts. We can't always control our outer universe, but we can, with some effort, control our inner universe.

Current Shenanigans Part I

It feels like it has been forever since I have given this little blog my attention!! I come here every so often to read the blogs I follow, look for new ones, and attempt to start a new entry just to be interrupted by more  pressing things (i.e. the million reports that are due for work as of yesterday, the organizing of my spare room, etc.). So since my last entry a LOT has happened with our little family. We celebrated birthdays with friends and family and have two more birthdays this weekend. Is it just me or does it feel like everyone and their mom (literally) were born in Feb, March, or April?! Maybe we just know a lot of spring babies, not sure, but it feels like we have a birthday to celebrate for the next eight weeks!! Not to mention mine and Mady's!! :)

Besides birthdays we have also had some other exciting things going on. We were able to go to Disneyland last week and had a great time with people we love! :) Terry and Tiff were able to go with us and it was Terry's birthday! :) My somewhat new mom friend Stephanie, Mady's school buddy Kyle, and his little sister Hadley all enjoyed a day at Dland with us too! It was a super fun day, can't wait to do it again!

Kyle and Madyson -- I love that she is waaayyy over accessorized, just the way she likes it!! hahaha!

These girls love each other, here they are waiting as patiently as possible to meet the ever so popular RAPUNZEL!!

Evidently I am not as patient, nor as eager, to wait in the hour and fifteen minute line while holding my 15 pound chubster!!! Okay, okay it wasn't that bad, definitely worth the smiles that came with finally getting to see the princess and all the hair!!

The wait was well worth it! :)

The kids got to meet some characters throughout the parks and it was nice because neither park was super busy! But it did suck that there was NO show at either park for the night -- so not cool!

The Mad Hatter was hilarious! He was trying to explain to MADy that she was wearing a hat and her name was MAD so she was just like him! hahaha! Guess its one of those things you had to be there to find funny?

This was right after we had gone on the Tea Cups, surprisingly it wasn't too bad!

Okay, I know this photo isn't spectacular and obviously its blurry. But how priceless is Mady's face? I love this photo, to see the excitement in her face as she runs away from a waving Minnie who she had just met for the 100th time and yet is still so stoked!! How precious is childhood? Definitely one of the best parts of being a parent for me is getting to see my child so happy and to see how huge her imagination really is. Gosh I never want her to grow up, stay little forever my baby!! :)

Even though three can be a crowd, all in all it was a great day! :)

It's off to dreamland for me so that I can wake up at 6 am for work! More to come tomorrow about other shenanigans and possibly some Hannah's happenings? lol