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1. for the opportunity

Yesterday evening when I walked out of work my mind fooled me quickly and I wanted to immediately call Erin.  Within split seconds I remembered that wasn't possible but as I hit the beautiful fall weather it was my first instinct and yesterday it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I decided to make a trip to the cemetery instead.  I am grateful that I know what happened to my sister.  I am grateful that she is not missing or didn't disappear on a run.  I am grateful that she was not brutally murdered.  I want her back and to change history -- that goes without saying.  BUT I am grateful that though I didn't get to go have an evening playdate, I was still able to honor her memory.

2. Beer, chili and Grey's Anatomy
After a solid cry at the cemetery I decided to come home and veg out.  It was a bit indulgent but I also exactly what I needed at the time.  I went to bed early, got up early, and ready to start fresh again today.

3. Only my flip flop fell victim
Nash has been freaking out the past few days when we leave and come back.  Yesterday I made a quick trip home for lunch and when I was trying to leave the house he kept escaping through the door with me.  Once I finally got out of the house without him he took his anger out on my flip flop.  I have seen pictures and videos of what dogs can do to the house when people leave.  I am so grateful it was only my flip flop.

4. Boss Day
Oh goodness I am not big on days.  I just think that it gets overboard with vodka day, lipstick day...the works.  Yesterday was boss day.  Since I am the boss of an office I received a few gifts and some really nice cards.  It does make you feel really special and I am grateful for my team.

5. Full staff
Have I mentioned this yet?  Currently and for almost 2 full weeks I have had NO openings for my support staff.  I have three provider openings (which in my eyes does not count at all) but NO staff openings.  This is huge.  Huge huge.  When you have a staff of 90 people in healthcare there are always people coming and going.  Always.  The moment I was full I called Tam, my boss, and she said that her longest stretch was 2 weeks when she was a manager.

Tuesday Morning

1. Sweaters

Today I pulled back out my sweater box and was instantly greeted by an old wardrobe.  I am wearing a sweater today and it feels heavenly.

 2. Dinner at my parents

Last night Rouzer was in Ohio hunting so the boys and I had dinner with my parents.  My absolute favorite part is just sitting and talking with my mom.  We talked about our recent trip, work and the boys upcoming birthday.  Nothing special but it feels comforting and easy.

3. Jack is hilarious
Jack took the pictures (and many more not shown) of the 5 of us for a FB post.  He wanted us to say "poopieee" instead of "cheeeese."  He laughs hysterically at his own jokes and he personally I do think he is pretty funny.  But maybe I am biased.

4.  Sold more tubes
Last night I had two different referral posts up and I sold some more tubes.  I would say that these few months have been a valley in my toothpaste business. I worked for about 2 hours last night and was EXHAUSTED.  I am grateful that I sold some more tubes and hopefully the ball just keeps rolling.

5. Bedtime went smoothly
With Mike out of town AND trying to work on toothpaste I am happy to report that bedtime went smoothly last night.  The twins helped read to Jack, Jack only got out of bed once or twice and everyone was asleep pretty quickly.  When I am home alone it is a bit tougher for me to fall asleep but once I did I was OUT.

the break

1. 20 minutes
I just set my timer for 20 minutes at work.  No distractions.  Just work.  Now I am taking a break for 10 minutes before the next 30 minutes of work.  I know that this seems insane to a lot of people but throughout my work day I have become EXTREMELY distracted.  I know that if I can get back into a zone of efficiency I can have all of my work completed by noon.  I will be getting back to that place.


2. Mike made lunches
Pretty much everyday Mike will make the boys' lunches.  It's pretty fabulous and I am grateful for the extra minutes I have to get ready in the morning. 


3. Chili and beer
Yesterday I made a huge pot of chili and it was PERFECT on a cold afternoon.  We are still recovering from our trip so lounging with chili hit the spot.


4. "hey hoe"
Jack marches around saying "hey hoe, hey hoe, it's off to work we go."  It's so freaking hard to not laugh.  And no-- we don't correct him because we think it is hilarious.


5. the ability to start again
Wowzers.  I have been bad with giving up on my goals.  Or should I say that I have done a GREAT job at failing.  I am grateful that I have a new day and a new moment to start again.  It's not over.

Disney

So I had some intentions of doing the blog WHILE on vacation but almost immediately I realized that would be tough.  Not that I can't do tough things...but I decided to take a pass on the blog.

Now I am back at it.

1. Trip to Disney
Yesterday we got back from an eight day trip to Disney.  It was long, wonderful, exhausting and fabulous.  We stayed with Rick and Connie at the Wilderness lodge and Brian and Lauren were also there at the beginning of the week.  We were so spoiled and enjoyed almost every minute.  You know....some minutes of meltdowns are hard to enjoy.

2. We didn't lose any children
Disney was a mad house. I am so grateful that no one was lost for any extended period of time.  We were able to stick together and not cause any major heart attacks.

3. My fanny pack
Though my bright pink fanny pack was not a great fashion statement OR great for pictures....it was still pretty fabulous for holding my phone and our trading pins.  I am becoming obsessed with the fanny pack.

4. Trading Pins
One of my favorite things at Disney was trading pins.  The boys would walk into a gift shop and not worry about gifts and toys...they would just ask to trade free pins.  We were all obsessed with finding the ones we liked.

5. Jack was just the right height
Jack was probably 4.25 inches and just barely made it on most of the rides.  This made the trip SO. MUCH. BETTER. After every ride we would have this converstation...

 "Did you like it?"
 "Yes."
"Do you want to go again?"
"No."

After Tower of Terror

6. Typhoon Lagoon
It had been raining off and on so the morning we went to the water park it was EMPTY.  We were able to ride every ride twice in the entire park within 2 hours.  The entire family had a blast.  Hands down this was my favorite part.

 7. Mickey's Not So Scary Trick or Treat
On Thursday night we had special tickets to this event.  Again the rides had absolutely no lines though the actual park seemed packed.  We were able to get on any ride we wanted plus watch amazing fireworks, the parade and gorge ourselves on candy.

 8. Back home
It is nice to sleep in our own beds, sleep in, and get settled for the week. I am so happy we have today (Sunday) to accomplish our chores and start getting into the grove.  It was a great trip.

early morning accomplishments

1. I fall asleep fast

It has taken me YEARS to get to this point but more often than not, when my eyes shut for the night I am asleep.  I am grateful that at this time in my life I don't suffer with insomnia or anxiety that keeps me up all night.

2.  Jack peed

Yes, it sounds simple but it's another big step. This morning Jack got out of bed and went to the bathroom himself before coming to wake me up.  This was the first time ever.  Hopefully this past box of pullups was the last box ever.  Note: he just wears pullups at night and rarely does he have an accident.  

3. 12 hours

In 12 hours we will be on a flight to DISNEY.  Still a lot of packing to do and stuff to get together but Rouzer has the day off so he plans on pulling together the loose ends.

4.  Kamilah

Kamilah challenges me and makes me think about my vision and my purpose.  She helps me work on my goals and keeps me accountable.  I absolutely LOVE her insight and think that her silent ability to lead is inspiring.  So grateful for Kamilah.

5. Black Belt

While I am on the topic of work....this week I was officially invited to get my ASQ black belt with the network.  I am so pumped for this opportunity.  When I received the email early Monday morning I could not stop smiling.  

Day 2

1. Packing for the next trip

I finally started packing for our trip tomorrow AND I was able to calm the F down.  I have been super stressed about making sure everything goes right and we do all the FUN stuff for no good reason at all.  I am over that crazy and excited to spoil the hell out of my children and just have fun.  This is the wig I am wearing for the Trick or Treat night.  I have never, ever worn a wig for more than 5 minutes so I am excited.

2. SBJ's hair
This little dude has some GREAT hair.  Over and over I have heard that his curls will soon disappear but right now I am LOVING it.  Never in a million years did I think I would have a son with long, curly hair.

3. AJ keeps me updated on the bus
If the bus is like 2 minutes late I hit up AJ to look on the app for GPS to see what is going on.  Why is God's name have I not taken the time to down load the app myself is a bit nuts BUT AJ helps at least once a week so clearly I am using him as a crutch. This week the bus was running late so I ended up dropping the boys off there to catch the bus.  When they jumped out of the car they went from early morning fogginess to HUGE smiles.

4. Mike reminded me to do the blog

Holy hell it is only day two and I forgot to do the blog today.  Mike asked me three times this evening.  Grateful that he helps keep me accountable.  

5. Thursday night soccer game

When the boys have games on an "off" night I LOVE when I have a built in chance to see them.  Just being with them makes me happy.  Tonight Owen had a soccer game and it was fun to watch him play and catch up with Cameron for a few minutes.  

#last90days

We have arrived at the last 90 days of 2018.  I have started a challenge to ensure these are the BEST 90 days of the year and I steam roll ahead into 2019.  I am going to be more consistent with my goals and more clear with my vision.  Doing this blog on a daily basis is a part of the journey.  As my sole reader knows....doing the blog on a daily basis will be a huge change from current state.  Cheers to the journey.

1.  Mike killed a deer.

I don't even think I have words to articulate how freaking PUMPED I am that Mike killed his first deer.  This has been a long time coming with hundreds thousands of hours of prep.  He is still at the lake but I am so excited to sit and hear all of the details.

2. Abundance
I have been using words of affirmation in my goal setting and setting my vision to have an abundant life.  Clearly I should of been more specific.  Last night I was looking for Disney Autograph books in the attic and found bins and bins filled with clothes that we need to sort through.  I was able to give three full bins to Kristin and overnight SBJ had a completely new wardrobe.

3. Disney Trading Pins
I think that I might of found a new thing that I love.  Disney trading pins.  We purchased lanyards for everyone in the group and 2 bags of extra pins.  I was obsessing.  Excited to be in the parks in a few short days and start trading. #thelittlethings

4. Reading

Grateful that not only do I have the ability to read but that I love reading.  This morning I woke up a little early to do something for ME.  I decided to stay in bed and read some more of my book.  Right now Owen is reading book 4 of Harry Potter and Cameron just finished the second.  I hope they both enjoy the love of reading as they continue to age.

5. Different, amazing coffee

Shelby just got back from Milan and she brought home an amazing bag of coffee.  I LOVE it and decided to make a special pot this morning.  Grateful for thoughtful friends and wonderful coffee.

Lunch date after Owen had a chipped tooth on the playground.

Working on my camera skills.  #cousins

Cameron's fashion is either hit or miss.  This morning he was spot on.

An entire afternoon of games.  Glad that we had each other.

Jack keeping himself busy during the soccer weekend.  He met a friend who was 4 who also brought dinosaurs to the game.  This friendship made the weekend SO.MUCH.BETTER.

Learning to swing.

Does this even need a caption?