Total shout out to T! and total non-descript ramblings

Thank you my dear friend for prettying up the ol' blog. She's all nice, shiney and new!

It feels so odd to not just log in and type: "sitting on the couch drinking coffee out of fave mug while watching my husband kick A at Lego: Star Wars the Complete Saga on the Wii". Facebook, total crack on the keyboard, y'all.

We've been home for day number 4... Friday it was, according to the director of schools, too cold to come in to work. I'm not one to disagree w/ sensibility so at home we stayed! I think our official low temp was 4. Um, yeah, burr.

Hadlee and Jack are, well to be completely honest, they are me and my younger brother, Jonathan, respectively. It's all my dad can do to not laugh himself to tears every time he's with us. I'm totally payin' for my raisin'. And truth be told, it's almost all GOOD. Sure we have days that are tough (schedules that don't completely coincide w/ life, runny noses, cutting teeth, sleepy parents who bite each others' heads off for little things like playing Wii too friggin' much or not getting off the facecrack to do something), but each day is a gift and I'm proud of the two little turkeys who are currently standing on stools "helping" cook brunch.

Last night Hadlee and I were having deep, life conversations: she's volleying for some new dolls, ya know, cuz the 98,000 she has up in the playroom aren't in the Barbie movies she's so into right now. We've come to the agreement that when she sleeps in her bed all night long she'll earn a sticker and once seven stickers are on her chart, she can choose ANY doll she wants. I was completely willing to go the American Girl route, but as of yesterday, Hadlee's decided that two Barbies from either The Diamond Castle or Mermaidia will do. SCORE! This then lead to our twice daily discussion of what we'll each be "when we're all growed up." I'm not allowed to be a mommy, teacher or runner "buhcuz you awlweady do that!" so we're going to each be mermaids, princesses and swimmers, in that order.

Jack's a little comedian. He loves hard, he fights hard, and he's a little ham all in between. Right now he's trying to peddle Hadlee's Vespa around while jamming to the Beach Boys-esque music that's playing on the little radio. Earlier he was the princess' dragon and was banished to the dungeon, and in a few minutes when he's ready for nap he'll ask for milk and cuddle up in my lap to unwind before I carry him to bed and whisper "Mommy loves you. Daddy loves you. Issy loves you. God and Jesus loved you, and thank you for being my "super fries" (super fries is Hadlee's way of saying "super special surprise") from God."

Tomorrow as we mark a new beginning on America's political calendar, I'll be thankful for the MANY blessings that have been poured on my head, excited for change, hopeful that the financial situation our world is in will take an up swing, and proud to be called Mom, Babe, Mrs. Hale, and Mae.

Thanks for stopping by my friends. Til next time,

The Running Mom