My Favorite Things

So, I thought I should put into writing some of my favorite things.  Here I go in no particular order.

1. Yoga / Pilates -- I hit my year mark on my gym membership and while I started off with step, weights and zumba, I became a consistent attender to the yoga / pilates class.  I've been able to do more and more of the moves and now pay more attention to myself and make sure I"m doing it right.  Alex tried to do a few moves with me and some weren't as easy as they looked.  My next step....running.

2. Arbonne - After child #3, I had a horrible time trying to keep my face from looking like a pubescent teenager.  For about a year, my current skin care was NOT working.  Nothing like being tired and looking in the mirror and not being able to fix those unsightly bumps.  I met a new friend who sold Arbonne and who let me try out their skincare for a few days.  Nobody gives samples of their skincare line so it's really hard to tell what will work.  So, after 2 months, my skin finally cleared up.  My early thirty fine lines have appeared, but my FAVORITE item is the eye corrective cream.  Somehow it just smooths out that area under the eye and gives a more youthful, less I didn't get enough sleep last night look.  P.S. I can sell these products, just FYI

3.  Bare Minerals - refer to #2.  I tried this make up years ago and it just didn't work for me. I couldn't use it a few months ago because of the condition of my skin.Now, however, I was able to buy Bare Minerals on sale and use a coupon (which is really uncommon for Bare Minerals).  And now, it goes on the list as one of my favorite things. Why? It's easy to use, light and looks nice :)

4.  J.Crew - I do hate to admit this.  However, this past holiday season and the one the prior year, I was able to buy $7 jeans and many, many sale/clearance items that have proved to be a staple in my closet. 

5.  Bed, Bath & Beyond - They do returns with no receipt, you can use multiple coupons, they're helpful and friendly

6.  Crocs - A brand I have come to really love.  I buy these for my kids and here's what sets them apart from similar shoes...they don't stink.  They do wear down and get dirty, but they don't stink.  None have fallen apart and my kids wear them religiously.  I recently bought a pair at 1/2 price and I love them. Super comfy and they feel superb!!

7. TV Shows - Justified, The Closer, Men of a Certain Age, Blue Bloods, Leverage, Rizzoli & Isles and White Collar. 

8. Webcam - I love being able to call up my brother or parents and see them whenever I want.

9. Thirty - One - I've only been a consult for 8 months but I did manage to get a recruit.  I'm not ready to give up but I'm still trying to figure how I fit into the whole direct selling thing.  I'm not a natural seller so I'm trying to get there. But, it's been a challenge and a lot of fun getting to know new people. I did have 1 huge party which had party sales of $1500 so that made me super happy!!

10.  My Family - It's a contented feeling knowing that we only have 1 in diapers and 3 incredible, enthusiastic sweet children.  I do love my husband also.  6 years and although we have our struggles, I wouldn't want to struggle with anyone else.

11. Wine.

Nothing goes unnoticed

I know that's not really true. There are plenty of things that go unnoticed and sometimes I feel like that 'thing' is me.  That's all I'm gonna say about that (no pity party here).  But, the point of this post. 

Today was the first day back to my Fall bible study and I couldn't wait!! It's been 2 long months and I was super excited to get there today.  So, I drop off Ryan and Olivia in their respective classrooms and head to meet my friends, Hillary and English. 

Afterwards, I go to pick up Ryan and his teacher came to me and told me how polite Ryan was today and how sweet he was.  I was very excited to hear this, although I also know that that was true. He is a very sweet boy. 

Ryan: Mom, Can I have a present?
Me: Why?
Ryan: Because I listened to my teacher today.

Hmmmm.  He got some gummy worms.  I still don't know whether or not he encouraged his teacher to tell me those goods things or not.

One Proud Mama

So, I attended James' first real parent/teacher conference.  It was just routine and a way to connect with the teacher. We love his teacher, Mrs. Trotter.  She speaks fluent Spanish and there is a large population of spanish speaking kids in the class, so we're hoping for some bilingual understanding.  Anyways, I went in to the meeting expecting to hear things like "We like James. He's sweet and smart and his speech has really improved". All of which, is true. 

Now I get to brag.  Mrs. T said he is the highest intellectually out of all the kids and she had some stories to prove it.  For example, she gave all the kids a plastic baggy with an ice cube in it.  They were then told to take the ice cube to where they thought it would melt the fastest.  All the kids took theirs outside, but James put his near the space heater.  Unfortunately for James, it was the warmest day all season and the ones outside melted first. 

I tried not to be the parent to just gush all over my kids, but I did contribute a few stories of how James wanted us to make an ice castle at home, or how many envelopes of cut of paper he brings home and how he asks us 3x a day if he has school tomorrow. 

There were a few more stories, but I don't want to be one of 'those' moms, so I just want you to know that I AM a proud mama. I was so proud that I wanted to reward James for working so hard at school. So, I got him a little gift yesterday.  That won't happen all the time.  We'll probably reward with milkshakes or something