Sick Day

(I am a little grumpy now... this is take 2 of this post. Somehow the first one got deleted! Bummer!!)

I am home with these little sweet sickys today. Actually, this pic is from yesterday morning but same thing today. The just have coughs and runny noses. No fun! And since I think it is so very rude to take sick people in public I am going to practice what I preach and keep them home not spreading the love!

On a more fun note. We did a little rearranging at the R House this weekend. We converted the kids playroom into an office. Now, before you think we are the MEANEST parents ever I would like to say that the kids hadn't really played in there for months. Even when they have friends over they prefer to be upstairs or in the living room. I was also inspired by one of my friends who only gives her kids 3small bins of toys to play with and rotates them out from time to time. Now, I am not going to go totally that way because frankly, we kind of like a lot of their toys too. But, I did come to the conclusion that if I can't fit all of their toys in their bedrooms/closets plus a few toys in the living room (we have a storage ottoman) that they probably have more toys than they can really enjoy. So we weeded through the toys and picked out their favorites and now Mr. R. and I have a room to work in.

I haven't decorated yet, we just moved the furniture in so I will post the finished product later!

I already love my house so much more! It is SO nice to feel like I am not living in a daycare center and I feel SO much less annoyed now when there are toys on the living room floor! Clean up is also SO easy. We just fill a basket with any toys that have wandered downstairs and take them up and then it takes about 5 minutes to clean up each kids bedroom and then Mommy gets to go to bed in a clean house! Plus, they are playing so much more with their toys now that they have fewer. I think the big room filled with toys was overwhelming. They spent all day just dumping toys out and not really playing. So, everyone is happy!! Especially Mommy!

Encouragement

I am really enjoying a new blog I found. It is called "Home Sanctuary". If you want to check it out here is the link! http://www.homesanctuary.com/rachelanne/ I LOVE finding new blogs that are uplifting and encouraging because honestly, it is hard to be encouraged and uplifted in the "real world" sometimes. I know that life isn't all daffodils and rainbows but sometimes the constant negativity of the world just gets me down. To be honest, I have hard days like everyone else. But, most of the time I feel content and joyful. Although, I find myself grumbling and complaing when I talk to people because it just feels like the way we are supposed to talk to each other. I am really going to try to be more positive in my speech because I want to be more uplifting. My biggest pet peeve when I was pregnant with Sophie was when people would tell me how hard it is to have two kids. What was I supposed to do? Honestly, for me, two kids have not been "harder" than one. I have had some different challenges than I had with one but overall for ME two kids was easier. I know that three kids will bring with it it's own set of challenges and will maybe even be hard for me. But, I want to try to have the best attitude I can about it. God has been teaching me a HUGE lesson during this season in my life and it is that children are a BLESSING and not a BURDEN he gives to us. I think the day after I found out I was expecting #3 I just felt the Lord constantly whispering to me, "this is a blessing from me". And I really believe that now. It makes me a little sad now to listen to people who constantly complain how hard having kids is, would you really prefer the alternative? Or how expensive kids are, God gives us the money we need to take care of them, what else would you rather be spending it on? I have been a complainer, but I just feel my heart changing. I was thinking about children compared to other blessings we recieve. What if God blessed us with a lot of money and we spent all of our time complaining to our friends how hard it is to manage the huge sums of money God unexpectedly threw at us? They would be pretty annoyed! And I am pretty sure our words sting even more to women who aren't able to have children or who have lost children. I am NOT saying that having children is not a huge challenge! But, I am saying that I personally want to be an encouragement to other moms and women who have been BLESSED with children. So, I am currently reading books and blogs and trying to surround myself with people who are encouragers! If you have any other great blog suggestions that are uplifiting on raising children, being a wife, and homemaking I would LOVE to hear about them! Being a wife, mom, and homemaker has been my heart's desire since I was a little girl and I feel so blessed to be living my dream! I thank all of you girls for being encouragers and for writing great blogs that make me HAPPY to be a mom!

READ THIS BOOK!

So, in my Friend2Friend group this semester we are reading the book, "Big Girls Don't Whine". I actually chose the study because it was the one my friends were taking! Ha! A little high school, maybe? But, either way! I am LOVING this book! I think every woman in the world should read it! I feel like a light bulb goes off every time I pick it up!

It is so eye opening to read about the difference between being a Big Girl and Little Girl. I can't imagine what our world would look like, what our churches would like like and what our homes would look like if more women would step up and be the Big Girls that God created us to be! I know I have a LONG way to go but I really am learning so much! So, if you get a chance... pick this book up!!! I don't think you will regret it!

I watched this video this morning and sobbed. While my little boy sat playing Legos on the dining room table and my little girl was out running errands with her Daddy who loves her more than anything. I have two children who are so loved and we give them absolutely everything we can. It is so hard to remember that there are so many children who have no one. So many of the children in the video looked a lot like my own. I am overwhelmed with feelings of saddness for them right now. I am grateful that they are loved my our Heavenly Father and pray that so many orphans find earthly families to love them. And I ask God to give me His heart for them. It is amazing that when you look at the Bible you really do see that God's heart is for adoption. I am so proud of all of the families I know who have chosen to adopt and pray that all of our hearts would be stirred to love on orphans in some way.
James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Show Us Your Life - Valentines Dates or Ideas

At Kelly's Korner this week it is Valentines Dates or Ideas.

Now, Valentine's Day is a very big day at the R's house. Valentine's Day has always been a big deal in my house. You see, I was born on Valentine's Day. And what makes it even more special is my mom was born on Valentine's Day. So, I like to think of myself as pretty much the best birthday present/Valentine's day gift she has ever gotten:-) I loved Valentine's Day growing up and secretly thought of it as my own personal holiday. My mom always wrapped my presents in Valentine's paper and somehow always managed to find that perfect Hallmark card, "On Your Valentine's Birthday..."

Needless to say, the standards were high when Mr. R entered the picture. But, never one to not meet a challenge head on Nick made our first Valentine's Day together absolutely perfect... he proposed! The next Valentine's Day was going to be tough. How do you follow marriage proposal? Well, we had been married 6 months so somehow he managed to suprise me again the next year (haha yeah right) we found out we were having a baby on my birthday! Since then the Valentine's days haven't been quite as huge. But, it is such a special day for us because of all of those things!

This year I am really excited about Valentine's Day! On Saturday night after the kids go to bed we are having a date night in! I am making shrimp linguini, tomato and feta salad, cheddar bay biscuits, and chocolate covered strawberries. Nick is in charge of picking out a cheesy romantic movie to watch while we eat our strawberries and drink sparkling cider. I can't wait!

Then we will make Sunday about the kids. We are doing heart pancakes for breakfast and all that fun stuff.

I am so excited! Happy Valentine's Day (or as it will always be in my mind, Happy Katie Day!)

I am so ready for Spring! But we have had fun in the snow despite my extreme dislike for winter. Max built a snowman with his grandparents and was SOOOOO proud of it! I was pretty impressed myself...

On Friday night we had kind of family night where we played in the snow. It was so much fun and was Sophie's first time to play in the snow!

And of course as parents we were legally bound by the age old tradition that after your children play in the snow you must serve them hot chocolate...

I of course am super excited for Valentine's Day coming up! As you know it is also my birthday and quite possibly one of the coolest holidays out there! I think we will use this weekend to kind of celebrate Valentine's Day as a family with the kids. Then the next weekend I think Nick and I will go out to dinner for my birthday. The funny thing is although I love celebrating my birthday we never really do anything big. And honestly, I love it. I think Nick and I will just go somewhere fun for dinner and spend time together. At this point in our lives I really don't need gifts and we don't have a ton of extra money to spend. So, a date night is the perfect way to celebrate! Here are a few pictures of my other 2 little Valentine's besides my wonderful husband!

they really do like each other...

Love those babies! Can't wait to add another to their craziness!

Home from a Girls Weekend to a Snow Day

So, this weekend I celebrated my amazing friend Christina's 30th birthday. She and my other amazing friend Sarah came to St. Louis and we had an FABULOUS weekend away! We did so many fun things that are hard to do with kids! We started out at Frontenac Plaza for a little window shopping and people watching! Then we moved on to lunch in Clayton at Il Vicino. Two words on that one: YUM and O! Then we headed to the Galleria for some real shopping! Christina and I love helping Sarah find new clothes. Since she has a job she needs big girl clothes! So, we help her:-) Then we went to our hotel right by the arch. The view from our room was just increadible! For dinner we went to Carmine's Steakhouse. Again... so tasty! We had a very... um... interesting waiter who gave Christina a very motivational speach informing her that his 30's were the worst decade of his life! Ha! But, he gave us free chocolate cake so we aren't mad! Then being totally us when we saw a horse and carriage we had to go for it. We took a horse drawn carriage ride around downtown. It was freezing and we were cracking up the whole time about everything but I think I will remember it forever! The next day we went to breakfast at St. Louis Bread Co. then shopping at Target and then finished off our get together with lunch at The Cheesecake Factory! Couldn't have been more fun! I love those girls! We have so much fun together. We say everything and anything that pops into our heads and laugh until our stomachs hurt. They bless my life SO much!

Max is a little dissapointed this morning because school is cancled. Poor guy loves to go. So, I am trying to make today fun at home. I am making cinnoman rolls right now while he is watching Veggie Tales. So far so good! Not sure what else today will hold. Maybe I will be a REALLY good mom and get out the Play-Doh... we'll see...