A Thankful Thursday

I have had a very difficult week. My feelings have been hurt a few times by people that probably don't even realize it. Aislynn, I'm pretty sure, is getting her eye teeth. Cuinn and I have been so busy, we haven't had much hang out time together. All in all, it's been a difficult week. Through it all, there have been a few high lights that remind me that my life is so incredibly blessed. I hope my list this week can touch somebody else. 

1. Sitting in our living room with Cuinn, just chatting. Not on our cell phones, not reading, not playing video games. Just time spent with each other talking.

2. Still getting that thrill from my husband that I got when we were dating.

3. Play dates at the park.

4. Seeing another friend, expectantly, at the park.

5. Putting on makeup and doing my hair. For a change. 

6. Not taking the makeup off from the night before, and waking up and you still look kinda pretty. (You all know you love day old makeup!)

7. Our family brunch date we had on Sunday. 

8. Watching Aislynn sleep so peacefully in Cuinns arms.

9. Re-reading Harry Potter. 

10. Holding hands.

11. My friend, L, who just announced she's pregnant!!

12. When Aislynn runs to Cuinn for a hug, then runs to me for a hug, then back to Cuinn, then back to me.... Love.

13. Completing a crochet project.

14. Putting on a dress that fits in all the right places and makes me feel pretty!

15. Strawberry cheesecake bites. So delicious. So easy. So awesome.

16. A clean table top. 

17. Freshly cut grass.

18. Bagels with cream cheese and raspberry jam. 

19. Getting crayon off my chair with a magic eraser. And wall. And carpet. And Aislynn's shirt.

20. My budding artist. 

A Sunday....

Source

Today was one of those days that when I look back, I will always smile. So will my heart. The day got off the a rocky start, but who will remember that? What will I remember from today?

Being on nursery today at church. 

Cuddling a good friends new baby in nursery.

Aislynn hugging and kissing the baby.

Going for Sunday brunch where the service was incredibly, the food was delicious, and Cuinn held a sleeping Aislynn for the whole time.

A nap on the couch.

Family movie which turned into family play.

Making dinner with my husband.

Playing in the park with my daughter.

An evening with my best friend.

Thank you, God, for the bountiful blessings you have given me. 

A Thankful Thursday...

Ahh, Thursday. How I've come to love you.

1. A/C. Oh man, I can not express how thankful I am for air conditioning. I loathe summer and the heat and humidity it brings, thank goodness I can turn on the cool air and pretend it's fall again.

2. Other stay at home moms. Being a SAHM is hard. Especially when your kid is in that middle age where they are too old for the kids who's moms are on mat leave but too young for the almost ready for school kids. Finding a few good moms to hang out with that have kids the same age? Priceless. 

3. The outdoor pool in town is actually heated this year! Last year it was pretty chilly, but they have heated it this year, and although it's still really refreshing, it's not freeze your face off. 

4. Aislynn's routine. I was reminded today of when Aislynn was younger and didn't nap during the day, and would wake up at weird times and I was mostly exhausted and never knew when the sleeping would happen. It makes me life so much easier that at noon, she gets super cranky and I know it's time for nap. 

5. The massage I got yesterday. Ah. May. Zing.

6. Cuinn having a job with such fantastic benefits and perks. Such as the massage I got yesterday, and the fact that there will be more to come this year!

7. Aislynn face is healing. She had a big fall, her first big fall, and the whole side of her face was swollen. Cuinn said she looked like she had a stroke. It was so scary for Cuinn, Aislynn and I. But she's looking much less puffy and after a bit of a cry and some ice cream, she was good to go.

8. K and B letting us use their BBQ. When it's this hot, I don't want the oven on.

9. Girls Night Out this Saturday. It might get a little crazy...

10. Fresh fruit for breaky. Delish.

11. Watching a terrible movie with my husband. Movie = not good. Time with my best friend = awesome.

12. Cuinn being able to get the blood out of my favorite shirt. At the moment of Aislynn's fall I didn't care that she was bleeding all over me, but right after, I was sad that my white shirt was all gross. My awesome hubby to the rescue, you would never even know there was blood on it to begin with.

13. Cuddles with Aislynn.

14. Aislynn put herself to sleep at daycare this week! All by herself!! I'm hopeful we can try that at home.

15. My friend K and her husband are officially staying in our tiny town. For the foreseeable future anyway. I was sad at the prospect of losing my new friend, but she's here to stay now!!

16. Lunch dates at Applebees. 

17. Finding some awesome deals on summer clothes for Aislynn.

18. Our new shower curtain. Our old one was moldy and gross. I don't know how to keep shower curtains from getting gross. What am I doing wrong? Anyway, we got a new one, and it's bright and red and makes me happy. 

19. Thinking all my parties had cancelled this month and feeling crappy, to then remembering that one of the parties; the host went into labour, and the other party she decided to reschedule. Yay for the brighter side of things!!

20. My friend K, who is like my other spouse. I'm pretty sure Cuinn is thankful for her too.

A Bunch Of Randomosity...

So, my girl Erin, over at Living in Yellow did this kinda awesome post the other day. It was basically just all random thoughts. No focus point other than the no focus, focus. I love posts like that. I will admit, sometimes when I get into a mood (which never actually happens. I'm very, rarely moody.) I get bored reading all the awesome blogs that I love. Not that they are boring, but I just don't always feel like reading stories. Y'know what I mean?

So tonight's post is brought to you by Erin, but not really, more inspired by. Here is my "first thing that pops into my head" post.

Source: google.com via Sarah on Pinterest

- Is it just me, or does Ryan's head look photoshopped onto his body in this one?

- I was having a really fantastical night tonight, with the hubs, then I went on Facebook and it was instant bad mood. I think that means it's time for a Facebook break. Facebook makes me angry. Or maybe people make me angry. No, I think it's how people are on Facebook that makes me angry.

- Even typing that, I knew that I would be posting a link to this post onto my Facebook wall, thus making me look like a hypocrite.

- I totally didn't know how to spell hypocrite, so I sounded it out. Like you are told in kindergarten to do. I spelled it like this: Hippo-crate. Like a hippo. In a crate. Poor little hippo.

- That reminded me of the hilarious joke about irrelephant. 

- I just googled it, because it always makes me laugh. Honestly, this was the first image to come up. Fitting? I think so!

- I really should be baking muffins for my play date tomorrow. Buuuut I would much rather be on the couch with Cuinn, typing out this blog while he plays video games. Bonding!

- I really hate and love when people say "HOLLA!!!!" It makes my skin crawl, but it also makes me laugh. How can that happen?

- When I was a kid, I always thought adults were supposed to be really smart, and have their act together, and know things. When does that kick in? 

- I also really hate that I have started say, "right?" At stupid moments. Like when I say "This milkshake is delicious." and then Cuinn says, "Can't believe Mac's has milkshakes." and I say, "Right?" You know how people do that? It's really annoying. But I do it now. GAH!

- How come the only time I want to do some hammering is when Aislynn is asleep?

- How come I didn't realize how dirty that sounded until about 5 minutes after I wrote it?

- All the way home from Mac's, Cuinn kept saying F'Real in as many annoying ways as he could. I wasn't getting it. Then I realized he was just reading my milkshake cup. I then felt stupid for looking at him like he was crazy. 

- I wonder if Liam Neeson knows that I love him? 

- I really want to watch Taken, he's so bad ass in that movie, I just can't stand it.

- iPhone is really annoying at times. Like right now, how I wanted to upload that f'real picture, but I couldn't just pull the little cardy thingy out of the phone, I had to go get the pluggy in-y thingy. Man, I wish it just had a little cardy thingy.

- When we went to the park today, this is what we saw:

Wouldn't it suck to be the guy who has to rake all that stuff onto the park? I wish I had taken a picture of the park. It's pretty huge. And there were two really giant piles of this stuff. This is only the front picture, the pile is actually really long. Plus, there was another pile even bigger for the other side of the park. Poor parks and recreation worker guy. 

- Or girl. Don't wanna be sexiest.

- I'm really tired now. I think I'll go to bed. 

- Or maybe I'll finally finish reading my book, so I can start on my other book.

- I wonder if other people really crave books like I do. Do you? Like how people crave a chocolate bar, I really crave a certain book, and y'know how when you are eating something else, but you're craving a chocolate bar, the food you ARE eating sucks, even if it's the most amazing thing ever, just because it's not what you're craving? Yeah, I get like that with books. 

- I'm thirsty, I wonder if the Brita is filled? How come ice cream just makes me really thirsty. Milk shakes are kind of redundant when it comes to quenching my thirst.

- How come when you try to hang out with people, they are always busy. But when you are doing other things, they are like, "Why you no hang out with me?" I don't get it.

- I wish I was a billionaire. 

- OH! I ALMOST FORGOT! I decided to hop on the Lost bandwagon. Yeah, I know, a few years late. I already know how the show all ends, but I figured, why not? I gotta see what all the fuss is about. Well, I watched one and a half episodes. Why only a half? Because Lost is B-O-R-I-N-G!! Seriously. Kinda glad that was a show I never got into. I don't know how you all loved it so much?

- I said I was going to bed. So, I should probably go now. 

- This kinda post was fun. It was like a conversation, but without the annoying other person who always tries to talk about themselves. Seriously, I only want to hear me during a conversation. The other person is only there so I don't look like a crazy person, talking to myself.

- Just kidding. I like hearing other people talk.

sometimes...

A Big Purchase...

Cuinn and I are on the hunt for a new car. 

Sad face goes here.

I love our car. I really do. Cuinn and I get a lot of looks when we drive around in our car. Seriously. A lot. People watch us drive down the road for miles. My friends are constantly talking to me about my car. I pretty much have a conversation every, single day about my car with at least one friend. Yeah. My car is a bit of a celebrity around these here parts.

And why not?

Ain't she a beaut?

Check out that dent in the drivers door. Or how the same door has a green top and a black bottom. Wondering where the muffler is? Yeah, so are we. Know what you can't see in this picture? How the passenger door is a collectible. Meaning, it's a black door while the rest of the car is green. Or how when it rains, the passenger door leaks and you get as wet as if the window was wide open. 

So, the external might not be perfect. It's a fun car to drive though! Because it's like a game! How is it like a game? Well, since the gas gauge doesn't work, and neither does the odometer, and we have a hole in the gas tank, you never really know if you're going to run out of gas or not. Isn't that fun?!?

All joking aside, I really do love this car. And it stings a lot when someone makes fun of it. Yes, I can make fun of it all the time, but it's like that weird relative. You all kinda poke fun at their expense, and laugh about it, but if someone else says even the tiniest little hurtful thing. BAM, you go all silent and cold, giving them the stink eye while saying, "Hey, shut up. They're really awesome." 

Plus, the engine in the car is brand new. Well, a year old, but that's basically brand new! The guy who sold it to us was a friend, knew we really needed a car and he likes to buy beater cars and then fix them up and sell them. So he did a bit of work on this beast and then sold it to us for dirt cheap. Which was perfect for us, since we had a baby on the way and all.

Anyway. I do love this car. We brought Aislynn home from the hospital in this car. We moved to our tiny town in this car. Cuinn and I have gone on dates in this car. I've ran out of gas in this car. Something that had never happened to me before, and I was freaked out, but I put my big girl panties on and figured it.

The best thing about this car?

It's not a minivan.

And since it's a beater, I can pretend I'm still young and hip, even though I'm old and a mum.

So, to finally get around to the point of this post, Cuinn and I are needing to buy a new(er) and better car.

Which, really? Could still be a really old, piece of crap and would still win against our car. I'm sorry Betsy, I have to face facts. You're kind of a junker.

We always said we would just drive this car into the ground and when we couldn't drive it anymore, we would get a new(er) car. Well, the time has come. We have to get our car e-tested in August to renew the plates, and let's be honest, she's not passing any kind of test. Unless it's the Is Your Car Telling You It's Time To Retire kind of test.

So, we're looking around, checking out the details, seeing what's what in the automobile world. I decided to get on to autotrader to check out average prices and whatnot. I hopped onto this website, and put in my deets, and this is what they keep suggesting.

Yeah, that's not happening.

Look. 

I can admit that a lot about my life is, how do I put this, Not "cool." I am a stay at home mum. Which I love. I go to Bible study Thursday mornings. I scrapbook. I bake cookies and muffins and scones. I cook dinner for my husband and daughter. I go to the park, and the early years center, and mommy groups. I volunteer in our church's nursery every 6 weeks.

I. Am. A. Mother.

See? I can admit that.

I have given up a lot of myself to be the kind of mum that will be driving my kids to soccer practise and dance recitals. And a 2 door sports car just doesn't have room for soccer balls, and three kids. Yeah, a mini van would totally be practical.

But...

Can't I just have one thing left that is cool? One thing that is a cool grown up thing that does not scream, "HEY EVERYBODY! I'M A MUM!!"?

Yes. Yes I can.

So this is the car we're buying.

So, if you feel like driving around in a really awesome, not mom car, come visit us in July or August and I'll take you for a ride.

The kid will have to get strapped to the roof though....

And I'm not sure where the stroller will go...

But at least I'll look cool.

Actually, maybe I'll just get this car, and then Cuinn can get the "mom" car.

So, if any of you cool moms (and I know you're out there), have any suggestions on what's a really good car for us, we're open to them! Just so you know, it has to be a stick shift. It can NOT be a van. It can NOT be a van in disguise. It HAS TO BE a car. If you can abide by my tiny little list of wants in a vehicle, shout out your suggestions! Because I'm lazy, and I'd rather someone else continue the research for the car, because it's boring me now.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Father's Day (not so) Silent Sunday...

Change Barber shop to pharmacy, and that was my childhood.


Happy Father's Day...


To my dad. Who was, and always is, there for me. With advice, a hug, a joke, whatever I need. Who loved my mom with all of his heart and followed God's word as well as he could. What a shining example of what the man of the house should be.


To my husband. Who is the head of our home, who is my partner in raising our child in a God fearing home. Who is a hero to our little girl and a hero to me. I love you.


To my father in law. Who always has a smile on his face. Who helped raise the man I love. Who loves his children and grandchild, unconditionally.


To my heavenly Father. Who holds me in his hands. Who gave his life for those who don't deserve it. Who loves us, all of us, even when we turn our back on him.


To all of the Father's in the world who love their children. Thank you as a daughter, as a wife, and as a mother. 

A Thankful Thursday...

Is it seriously Thursday again already?!?

I feel like I'm constantly saying this but... Where did the time go?

It's been another really awesome week, so it's another easy week for a Thankful Thursday post. Here goes nuffin'!

1. My first awesome garage sale find of the season! Aislynn loves it. Daddy loves it. I love it! And I only paid $20 for it! The guy felt bad and said, "But there's black paint splattered on it!" He felt bad charging me "so much" for it. It's practically brand new with a tiny bit of paint on it guy, you're giving me a wicked deal!

2. Being able to visit Cuinn at work. He's being doing a lot of out of town stuff, and it's just going to get worse in the next few months, so I cherish the days that Aislynn and I can pop in for a visit. Although, this time Aislynn wasn't much company...

3. The wonderful summer weather we've had so far. We get a few scorchers, but a lot of cooler days in between. Which allows the Simpson family to enjoy the few really hot days rather than makes us stay indoors for 3 months with the a/c blasted!

4. Our little kiddy pool. Aislynn loves it, and I love sitting outside, watching her learn and play.

5. Aislynn's fashion sense. She picks a lot of her outfits out herself. Not a lie. Most of the time, it's really awesome. Some of the time it's a rubber boot and a flip flop.

6. Bagels with cream cheese and jam. It's like dessert for breakfast!

7. When Aislynn wakes up with puffy eyes. I love how snuggley and small she seems when she wakes up. Like she's my little baby again. 

8. Instagram. I think I might be obsessed. Follow me!! @sarah_pants

9. Cuinn having 2 days off. IN A ROW!! Bliss!

10. Our Dr. We had Aislynn's 15 month check up which included a vaccine that Cuinn and I are not comfortable with. Our nurse was a little crusty about it, but our Dr was amazing. There are so many other reasons why he's amazing too though. Like how he always says, "Yep, she's perfect!" After he finishes his check up with her. How he talks to us, not down to so. He listens and really is invested in trying to help. How he always makes time for us and doesn't make us feel rushed. How he told Cuinn to just wait in the waiting room and he would see us between another patient rather than Cuinn coming back 3 hours later for his appointment. The list goes on and one, but bottom line? Best Dr we have ever had. 

11. This video. 

Am I the only person who hates their own voice? Also, I know I say "Thar you go." For some reason I thought it would be fun to sound like a pirate? Actually, it's more likely that I thought in my head I was saying That's so sweet, but my mouth decided to say there you go which turned into That you go. Sometimes my brain and mouth don't play well with each other...

12. How well my Epicure is doing. This was just one order! Not even including the cookware! Still not entirely sure what Epicure is? Ask me. We'll chat!

13. As much as I complain about the tiny town we live in, I kinda love how quaint it is. People who have lived here forever keep complaining about how "big" our tiny town is getting. I always have to bite my lip from laughing out loud. I think the tiny town is growing on me. 

14. My favorite moment of the day is when my car crosses the railroad tracks, and then the lights start flickering. I feel like I have beaten the system. "HA HA TRAIN! FOOLED YOU! YOU WON'T STOP ME THIS TIME!"

Obviously, this time I did get stopped...

15. We get complimented all the time on Aislynn's accessories. I always love the fact that Cuinn has picked out both Aislynn's hat and her shades. My family is so stylish. I just hide it really well. 

16. The moment when all the laundry is folded. Ahhh. By the way, this pile doesn't include Aislynn's clothes, or Cuinn and my underwear/socks basket. Didn't feel like Cuinn would be very impressed if I posted a picture of his boxers on my blog...

17. The gorgeous flower bushes that are behind our Dr's office, on the way to the park. We like to stop and pick all the petals off smell the roses. All of them. One at a time. I really love how much of an investigator my daughter is.

18. The book I'm currently reading called The Slap. The book is so far away in my bedroom, while I am laying on the couch writing this blog, so I can't actually tell you the author right now. But I'm enjoying it. I thought it was going to be all happy, dappy, mom literature, but it's a little more rough than I was expecting. It's by no means excellent, but I'm enjoying it and it's a quick and easy read. I'll let ya know if the ending was worth it.

19. Cool breezes coming through the window at night. I love it.

20. Watching Aislynn interacting with other kids at the park. Recently we've been changing our schedule so we can play with kids her own age and other stay at home moms. It's been a rough transition at times, but I really think it's been doing both of us a lot of good. 

Oh, Jade. I'm not sure if you know this, but the Thankful Thursday's are doing me a world of good. Thank you. 

If she does a link up, I will be linking up through Jade. Her blog rocks. Go give her some love!

A Silent Sunday...

A Letter To...

Dear Modern Family, 

You are way to addictive for me. I can't stop watching. 

Dear Fudgcicles. 

You're deliciousness makes me happy. Thanks. 

Dear Husband, 

Thanks for fixing the bike trailer thingy. My ride home was so much easier. 

Dear Aislynn, 

I'm sorry that you were so sleepy for the bike ride home, and I'm sorry that I couldn't cuddle you until we got home. I love you. 

Dear Annoyed Woman In The Grocery Store, 

OOOOOH, that's my kid crying? I didn't realize that. Thank you for pointing that out! Seriously, you have no idea how much that helped me out. I'll make sure to put a muzzle on my kid, just like you suggested. By the way, did you realize that your hair was turning grey? And that buying diet pop and weight watchers bagels doesn't really help when you also have Key Lime Pie and 2 chocolate cakes in your cart. Jerk.

Dear Nice Lady In The Grocery Store,

Yeah, that woman was a jerk. Thanks for trying to make me feel better with your kind words of encouragement. It did help. You reminded me that for every jerk in the world, there is an equally nice person.

Dear Zehrs Employee,

Thank you for putting all the stuff that was in my cart away so that I could just leave with my kid. Who was not impressed.

Dear August,

Hurry up and get here so I can see my mum and dad!

Kinda love these.

Link it.

A Thankful Thursday...

I woke up today feeling awesome.

Well, sort of...

Being a woman sucks once a month, so that wasn't awesome.

But my heart and my heart feel so full this morning, I love that feeling. So today's Thankful Thursday was an easy one. 

1. Date days with Cuinn. Date nights are awesome and everything, but lately with Aislynn waking at 6, a date night just ain't gonna happen. A date day though? Oh heck yes!

My dreamy man.

2. R, our daycare provider. Our date day wouldn't have happened if we didn't have an awesome daycare provider. 

3. Our friends J and S. They watched Aislynn ALL DAY on Saturday. Then when our first pick up for Aislynn didn't quite pan out for yesterday, I call J and she happily agreed to watch her AGAIN! Cuinn and I feel so blessed that Aislynn is so loved. I guess we are too...

4. Cuinn's FBF (that's kinda like a BFF, only a little more hardcore) got us tickets to the Boston and Jay's game for last Saturday. It was awesome. Plus, my brother came too!

5. I had a "work" meeting last night. Is it still work if you love it so much.

6. Trips to a new library with a good friend. 

7. My daughter's best friend.

8. The Proverbs 31 women in my Thursday morning study group. I'll miss you this summer ladies!

9. Not having apples to make apple crisp, but remembering my mum's words of wisdom, "if I don't have it in the cupboard, I just make it up as I go!" Apple crisp turned into whatever fruit was in my fridge crisp. And it turned out not bad.

10. French fries. Those salty sticks of goodness. I will always choose you over ice cream.

11. Skype convo's with my mum and dad. Even Especially if their mic isn't working. Oh the hilarity.

12. Having all the toys off the floor. Even for just 2 hours while Aislynn sleeps. So that's what color the carpet is!

13. Being able to count down to my mum and dad coming for a visit! 55 days!!

14. Father's Day crafts that are coming together. So exciting!

15. Driving fast with the window's rolled down.

16. The Epicure party I did on Sunday. The hostess did so much work that I feel I didn't have to do too much and I am so proud of how well she did! It gave me the lift I needed about Epicure too. 

17. Red toenails. It's so nice to be able to pain my toe nails and not be embarrassed. 

18. Aislynn in overalls. Love.

19. Emails from friends. 

20. An empty dishwasher. A small thing, I know. But I just love when all the dishes are away, and I don't need to clean any of them.