Thursday, May 22, 2014

Thankful Thursday: Wedded Bliss & Fans

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I’m thankful for 4 years of wedded bliss :) Today Ronnie and I celebrate 4 years together as husband and wife and I’m so thankful for every day, month and year together. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in this life.

I’m thankful for having Ronnie home. Ronnie got home Monday night from his 2.5 week stay, and it has been amazing having him home!! Life is so much better with him under the same roof.

I’m thankful for a wonderful babysitter. Mckenna has had a babysitter come hang out with her on Thursday afternoons for the last couple months so that Ronnie and I can get some work done together. The last couple of weeks Mckenna has been especially clingy (I think Ronnie being gone may have driven this), and has been out of character when the sitter comes (full of tears, fits, sadness and fear)…Mckenna has insisted on starting the time in bed, reading by herself or “sleeping”. Our sweet sitter just waits her out and loves her anyways. Within 30 minutes, Mckenna is usually ready to play. I am so thankful for a sitter who understands a child’s heart, loves unconditionally, and is a lot of fun.



Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for 4 years of marriage! I can't believe I was able to trick another human being to spend 4 years with me (6 including our dating years). God has truly blessed me with an incredible partner in crime that I absolutely love doing life with. Here's to another 40...that is crazy...and sounds very tiring...but with Mandi, I am willing ;)

I'm thankful for vanilla soy milk. I don't think I've ever tried the stuff before last week, and now I can't get enough of it! Now, I don't drink it by itself, but in iced coffee, although I don't mind the taste of it as a standalone. I also have to give a shout-out to my wifey for pumping out the iced coffees for me!! 

I'm thankful for fans. This time of year it starts to get incredibly hot back in my office (it was an addition to the house and doesn't have the best airflow). I picked up a standing fan at Costco that also came with a little desk fan. Now I have air blasting my face, body and top of my head (from the room fan above) to try and combat the heat exhaustion that I feel while I'm working ;)

What are you thankful for today?

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Things About Hospital Stays Ending

Ronnie is home...WAHOO!! He got home last night. I'll let him give the specifics in his next post, but I figured it would be a good time to do a top 10 list of what I love about him coming home (some will be very obvious!)

1. FAMILY TIME - I love being back together as a family. It is so amazing to have us all under the same roof again. Both practically, for the extra help, but also for the emotional aspect of just having daddy and hubby home.

2. Starting Anew - Ronnie and I use hospital stays to reboot our lives...this may be one of my favorite things about the end of a hospital stay. We usually revamp our diet, our exercise routines, our chores, you name it. This time out Ronnie and I have decided to clean up our eating (as in, eat clean for awhile), rework some of our workout routine, reschedule some of our daily routine, and reorganize our chore list. It's a nice opportunity to hit restart!

3. Increased Energy - Ronnie usually has a lot more energy when he gets out (vs when he goes in). I love having him back at 100%. He doesn't complain before a stay, and he tries not to have it affect our lives, but I can always tell he's forcing it before he goes in.

4. Appreciating the Under-appreciated - I always love and adore Ronnie, but I appreciate him SO much more the first few days he's home from the hospital. His presence I felt more than usual. Hearing his goofiness resound from the playroom or finding laundry folded waiting for me make me truly appreciate him.

5. Daddy's Girl Back with Daddy- Mckenna struggled this stay more than usual with Ronnie being gone. I love seeing daddy's little girl back with her daddy. She smiles a little bigger, laughs a little louder, and snuggles a little tighter when she's with her daddy.

6. Evening Company - I don't very often think about evenings when Ronnie is around. We veg out. We watch TV. We sleep. It's all low key. But when he is gone for 3 weeks, evenings start to feel lonely. It's quiet. I'm alone. The house feels emptier. Having him home is truly felt in the evening. Even watching TV with someone else feels remarkably more full, even if no one is talking.

7. Help - It's exhausting to be a single mom for weeks on end. Help is amazing. Getting to pee alone sometimes during the day. Someone else to be on potty duty. Someone else to grab something out of the fridge. Someone else to answer all of the "why" questions. Everything. Help is amazing!!!

8. Gym Buddy - I love working out because I love all of the benefits...but one thing I love the most is doing it with my gym buddy. It's our time together. We can talk, joke, check each other out in the mirrors...It is a really fun time together.

9. A Warm Body - Our bed feels empty when Ronnie is gone. I stack pillows on his side of the bed, just so it feels less empty, but it's really nice to have a real person back in bed. I would say it's nice to have snuggles during the night, but usually he says I'm too hot to snuggle with, so he snuggles pillows ;-)

10. FAMILY TIME - This one is too good not to do twice! It's nice to have our threesome together again!