Things...

1. Sammie fell asleep on me the other day. She climbed up into my lap and got all snuggly. She NEVER does this anymore. I assumed she'd gotten hurt and needed comforting so imagine my delight when it turned out that she was just tired and looking for a little place to nap! It was almost dinner time and any parent with a toddler will tell you that letting a kid nap that close to bed time is like playing with fire, but I couldn't help myself. I let that girl just lay her head on my chest and sleep. It was one (of probably the few) times in my life when I just let myself get caught up in the moment and the motherhood of the situation. I hope it won't be the last time Sammie does this, but sadly, she's growing up and these moments are becoming very rare indeed.

2. Speaking of toddlers...why are they so naughty!?! The other day Justin and I were talking while I was cleaning the kitchen. I stopped and asked him, "Do you hear water?". He ran upstairs. A second later he called, "Ari, come here!". So I went. We found this:

Yes, she flooded our bathroom. She can open doors, climb things, and turn knobs. Everything on the counter (toothbrushes, handsoap, Clorox wipes, lotion, toothpaste, etc.) is in that sink. It had flooded the sink, the cabinet under the sink, and turned the floor into a swamp. She was only gone a second too! Toddlers are fast...and sneaky. (For the record, she's crying because she was caught. She actually didn't get into too much trouble over this.)

3. This book:

Have you read it? No? Go buy it RIGHT. NOW. It's a YA book, which I'm normally not crazy about (usually because they're vomit inducing stories of idiot teenagers doing idiot things) but this one is absolutely AMAZING! Don't check it out of the library. Buy it. It's a beautiful story told from several points of view about a 5th grade boy with craniofacial abnormalities. You'll cry. A lot. But for several reasons. It will break your heart and make you laugh and make you smile and make you happy all at the same time. Plus, it's a super easy read (you could easily get through it in a day or two). Clayton will be going into 5th grade next year and I plan to read it with him before the school year starts. I wouldn't call this book life changing, but it's definitely perspective changing (at least for me). Seriously, take a break from reading the blog and order it off of Amazon or something. You can thank me later.

4. The karate kid:

He's moving up the ranks very quickly in his Karate classes. He still loves theater and choir and performing, but Clayton is all about Karate these days. He loves it and takes it very seriously. You go Clayton! Ralph Macchio's got nothing on you!

5. My girls are together almost all day, everyday (the exception being when Josie's at school three mornings a week). Sometimes they fight, but when they're sweet, it's like magic. Tonight Josie was running around singing a song about how much she loves her sister. Made my momma heart happy. Lately they've been playing together more and more. I know it's because Sammie's growing up and they're developing common interests. Yesterday they actually fought over a pair of leggings (which was a weird flash forward to the teenage years). All in all, they are becoming the best of friends, just like Clayton and Noah. I know how wonderful it is to have sisters that you are close to. Sisters who are your very best friends. I'm glad my girls have that now. I hope they have it always.

6. Speaking of sibling relationships, have I ever mentioned how sweet the relationship between Noah and Sammie is? He adores her (and she him). He helps her, plays with her, reads to her, etc. He's very patient with her, which is sometimes difficult as she can be a real pest to him sometimes. I'm so proud to see the big brother he's becoming. His relationship with Josie is slowly getting better (they still fight a lot, but they're starting to play together a lot too) and his relationship with Sam is just precious. My girls lucked out. They have pretty awesome big brothers!

7. This show:

 It's one of my all time favorites (right up there with 'Ed' and 'Scrubs'). I've started watching it again - for the (5th? 10th? Millionth?) time. It makes me happy.

8. Also, this show:

I started watching it and now I have Justin hooked. It's funny. The whole series is up on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. It's lighthearted, funny, and suspenseful in places too. It doesn't have 'Friday Night Lights' status, but it's pretty great.

9. The 'Harry Potter' movies. I've been rereading the books lately (they're just that good). I decided that this time, I'd watch a movie after each book I finished - because I've never made it through a single Harry Potter movie! What!?! I know! I have this syndrome. It's called "can't-stay-awake-during-a-home-movie-to-save-my-life-itis". I am currently in the middle of the third book. This means that I've "watched" the first two movies. Sort of. Let's just say I fell asleep for shorter periods of time this time than I have in the past. Good grief. It's a problem. I try so hard, but just can't seem to keep the old peepers open. I fell asleep once during 'Inception' and tried to make Justin, Missy, and Chase believe that I hadn't (they all know about my syndrome). Justin told me later that I wasn't fooling anyone, I just sounded like a moron because the things I was saying about the movie didn't make sense. Anyway, here's hoping that I can stay awake for the remaining 6 movies. Because guys, I really want to see them!

10. My girls:
She's becoming so grown up. I love it and hate it.

Josie is a firecracker. She makes me crazy at least twelve times a day but I love how spunky and independent she is. Yes, she's a princess. But she's a princess that will grab a light saber and kick your butt any day of the week. She doesn't need to be rescued, she can do that for herself.

I adore her.

 I just think this is the most adorable picture ever. She looks so angelic!

I think ten is a good number of things for tonight. We don't have a whole lot going on right now. It's back to the grind of school, extra curricular activities, and everything that goes with it. Right now we're just doing our best to maintain our sanity during all these cold snaps and are eagerly looking forward to spring (oh, such a long way off)!

Plus, we're getting ready to put our house on the market and all the stress that goes with that. I hope that I can continue to blog regularly as we go forward with all these things, but it may be a bit spotty for the next six months or so. In the meantime though, we're just enjoying our time together!