Monday (or "The Comedy of Errors")

Yesterday was definitely a Monday.. did you feel that way too? 

I'm not sure if it was just an off day because we had such a fun and enjoyable Easter weekend (more on that hopefully tomorrow) but it just seemed like nothing was going right..

Here are a few examples:

1. I had a doctors appointment at 10am in Westminster (which is about a 30 minute drive) and had to get Jax and me up and moving by 8:30 to ensure we were dressed, fed, and out the door by 9:15. We miraculously made it early but the doctor was running late--so my squirmy toddler and I were trapped in an 8x8 room for a half hour. 
2. After my appointment, I took Jackson over to the park by our old apartment to play for a bit and then I carried him over to Barnes & Noble (about a 1/2 mile walk).. in my boots.. and came home to a gnarly blister on the bottom of my foot. 
3. Had to stand through the entire story time to ensure that my son didn't yank the book from the storytellers hand (believe me, he tried.. multiple times) or steal crayons/toys from the other toddlers. 
4. The classic "Jax, please stand nice and don't touch anything while mommy goes potty!" in the bathroom stall at Barnes & Noble (of course he touched everything and crawled around on the gross bathroom floor..). #momfail
5. Not sitting nice in the cart at Costco.
6. Falling in the cart (and crying) because he wasn't holding on and mommy wasn't paying attention. #momfailpartdos
7. Accidentally giving my 15-month-old his first taste of pop (here's what happened: the pharmacy was taking forever to fill my prescription so I figured Jax and I would go to the food court and share a hot dog while we waited.. anyway, I got my usual Diet Pepsi and let Jax -- who at that point hadn't grasped the concept of drinking out of a straw -- chew on the straw. The next thing I know, he is chugging my Pepsi.. and wanting more.. I threw the cup away shortly after).
8. The pharmacy messing up my prescription yet again (the doctor told me she sent in a 90 day supply and they only gave me 30.. happens every. single. time). 
9. Arrived home to find that the cat jumped up on the counter & managed to opened a tupperware container of corn bread (half a piece was missing), cleaned up the cornbread crumbs, put away the groceries, broke open the cat's new bag of food (there is now cat food all over the floor of our garage), and fed the cat. 
10. Cleaned up cat's cornbread vomit. 
11. Picked up shrub branches from the backyard while Jackson and Bella played.
12. Let cat back in the house. 
13. Brought Jax inside 15 minutes later to find that the cat threw up grass all over one of Jackson's new Easter books. 
14. Cleaned and did dishes. 
15. Laid in bed with Jax and watched obscure PBS programming.
16. Took a blissful and well deserved nap with my cuddle bug. 

Major first world problems, I know.. I just had to vent and write it out so thank you for listening/reading (though I'm sure most of you stopped reading at around #4.. I know I would have!). Here's to what is hopefully an uneventfully peaceful rest of the week! 

I just realized I didn't take any pictures yesterday so here is Jax with his new stuffed bear from Great Grandpa & Grandma Sandmeier. 

{this moment}

I found the prompt for this post on one of my favorite blogs (Little Miss Momma) and thought I'd give it a go!

{this moment} – A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

inspired by SouleMama  

Give Thanks Friday

Today is Good Friday and I am completely baffled by the fact that the Lenten season has come and gone.. I really, really love this time of the year because everything just seems so calm and peaceful as we reflect upon our Lord and the beautiful gift He gave us all because of His abundant love for us. Every night after Jackson falls asleep, I've been going into his room to pray over him and to thank God for giving me this beautiful life and for giving His only son for us. It's true: we love because He loved us first. 

As I mentioned on Ash Wednesday, I brought back my "Give Thanks" posts as a way of putting things into perspective for me during Lent -- now that Lent is over though, I'm still going to try to continue writing down the things I'm most grateful for either on here or in a journal. I encourage you to do the same. 

1.) Last weekend, we began to landscape our front yard (and even though it's only a patch of dirt right now, it already looks SO much better than it did before with the gigantic, trash filled hedge). I'm so thankful to have a husband who works so hard on these projects and takes such pride in our home.

I kid you not; I filled two full size trash bags with cups, papers, etc., that littered this gigantic, ugly hedge.

2.) Brandon took me to a couple's cooking class at Sur La Table for my birthday and we had such a fun time cooking, shopping around the store, and feasting on our 3 course Parisian meal -- I'm so glad that Brandon thought to do that for my birthday date!

3.) We had some wonderful (and unfortunately not so wonderful) weather days last week and enjoyed many park outings/stroller pushing excursions. We're so blessed to have nice neighbors two doors down who we can meet at the park to play with! 

4.) I'm so thankful for my little sidekick who is always by my side ready to help with anything :) This week is was helping me read books, clean, and decorate our homemade Easter cookies (which I hope to turn into our annual tradition)! 

5.) Above all, I'm thankful to have a Father who loves us all so much that he died so that we can have life everlasting. I don't think I ever really thought about and appreciated this until I got married and became a mother -- how lucky are we?! Thank you God for loving us all unconditionally and giving us such a beautiful gift.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend with your families -- don't forget to count your blessings and give thanks for all of the beauty in our lives. 

I Think That 25 and I Are Gonna Be Friends..

I turned 25 less than a week ago and have already decided that I love it.. after all, having a great birthday week means you're guaranteed a great year, right?!

My actual birthday day was filled with Easter cookie baking, naps, and a delicious Hibachi dinner with my two favorite boys (Jackson enjoyed the experience for the most part -- minus the giant flames, which was to be expected). On Friday, Jackson and I worked around the house, ran a few errands, ran into our favorite neighbors at the park, and made marvelous maniconi for supper. It was a very relaxing couple of days which was perfect because..

..we began doing some front yard landscaping on Saturday! I don't want to share too many pictures yet (though I took a bunch to share down the road when our project is complete) but it already looks SO much better. My big job for the day was hauling yard waste from the front to the back and that was flat out exhausting -- Brandon did way more of the "heavy lifting" than I and somehow managed to find the energy to take me on our special birthday date!

After dropping Jackson off at his Great Aunt Nancy & Uncle Rolf's, Brandon and I headed to Cherry Creek to take a couples cooking class at Sur La Table. The kitchen (pictured) was amazing, the food was delicious, and we learned how to prepare a 3-course Parisian meal. The class itself was fun but Brandon and I both decided we would have preferred something a little more private (we had to partner up with another couple which was super intimidating considering they'd taken one of these classes before and had mastered several of the techniques). Despite having to partner up and be social (ha), the class was a ton of fun and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique date night. 

25 has definitely started off on the right foot and I'm excited to see what the year has in store for our family. As always, thanks for visiting my little corner of the internet -- it truly does mean the world to me!

{this moment}

I found the prompt for this post on one of my favorite blogs (Little Miss Momma) and thought I'd give it a go!

{this moment} – A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

inspired by SouleMama  

Give Thanks Friday

I'm pretty sure that last week is going down in the books as one of the best weeks of my life -- no joke! It was such a fun and fulfilling week full of good music, family time, and birthday fun. Without further ado, here are 5 things I'm most thankful for! As always, if you're needing to put things into perspective or are looking for a little end of the week pick-me-up, I encourage you to sit down and jot down your biggest blessings from the week--we all have so much to be thankful for!

1.) As I mentioned on Tuesday, we attended the Garth Brooks concert last weekend and got to see my Aunt Judy and Cousin Angie (who came out from Kansas for the show)! It was such a fun day and reminded me again of just how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family! 

2.) Goober had his 15 month well check on Monday and all is well (besides having to get poked and prodded for shots..)! I'm thankful for such a happy, healthy little guy and for the QT we had before his appointment (lunch and park play)! 

3.) Staying on the topic of Jackson, I'm just flat out thankful for such a sweet little boy! Whenever I pick him up now, he pats me on the back and puts his head on my shoulder. Heart. Melt. 

4.) I'm thankful for my hubby who made my birthday extra special by taking us out to a hibachi grill last night and booking us in a Parisian cooking class on Saturday.. Love that man! 

5.) Last but certainly not least, I'm so thankful for all the good people in my life. Birthday's are always a time of reflection for me and I couldn't help but think of all of the good people I know and have encountered over the last quarter of a century! Thank you to everyone who called, texted, sent cards, FB'd, etc., yesterday -- you don't know just how much that means to me. 

Have a blessed Palm Sunday weekend, all! Can you believe that next weekend is Easter? 

Thoughts on Turning 25

Tomorrow is my birthday and I turn a quarter of a century old..

..I know that isn't very old at all but it feels like it to me.

I'm in my mid-twenties now! Where has the time gone?!

The other day, I started thinking about my life and how it is basically the exact opposite of anything I'd ever expected.

If you'd asked me 10 years ago what I'd be doing at 25, my answer would be simple: I'd be a single working girl living in a loft (above a coffee shop) in some trendy city -- since I wouldn't be tied down and would have all kinds of money from my well paying job, I'd go see the world with friends and settle down sometime in my 30s.

That was it. That was the plan. Thank God for unanswered prayers!

Here I am at 25 -- I'm a happily married mother (and homeowner) living in the suburbs with a cat and work from home job.

You wanna know something?

I wouldn't change it for the world.

I absolutely love my life and thank God every day for giving it to me.

I'm married to my soul mate (as corny as it sounds, it's true!), have a healthy little boy, roof over my head, education, and sometimes even get to travel -- it doesn't get any better than this!

This last quarter century has been amazing and I want to thank everyone who has been part of it. I really do have the best family and friends in the world and can't thank you all enough for making this life so special.

Here's to the next 25!

Yep; I'll take this over any other job any day!