Oh, how we love our weekends!

We are definitely the kind of people who live for the weekends, but this weekend in particular was a fun one. Scott's parents came down for a short but fulfilling visit full of hugs, kisses, and smiles from their growing granddaughter. (Did I mention that this is the same visit we've been planning for the past month but Old Man Winter has been toying with?) They arrived Saturday around lunchtime and enjoyed a lazy afternoon of learning all about Emma and the many ways she has been changing since they saw her last. Our evening included a dinner complete with white wine, Chicken Francese, the ever-so-delicious three cheese semolina bread from our local grocery store, and a pudding pie for dessert. Do you think we like to eat in this family? ;) Sunday was slightly busier but, again, so much fun! Our good friends were in town from Pennsylvania with their six-month-old baby girl (and a beautiful one at that!), and they made time to come visit with us for a few hours. We filled up on a tasty brunch (again, more food) and gave our baby girls and future B.F.F.'s a formal introduction! These two beauties are already quite fond of each other, but don't take my word for it:

So I didn't quite do this moment justice, but our girls were holding hands.... melt my heart! <3 Sadly, our dear friends had to be on their way all too quickly, but we managed to enjoy what was left of the afternoon by taking our girl baby and our fur baby for a walk at the park, enjoying the 60 degree weather and rare day of sunshine. The evening ended with a night off for the cook and a steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse, which I was all too grateful for. Emma got to enjoy a few more hours of playtime with her Grandma and Pop-Pop this morning before they headed home to New Jersey, and Max spent most of the day sleeping and depressed.... his typical routine whenever any visitor leaves him. Poor puppy. I guess I'm just not enough fun for him these days! I wonder why....

This upcoming weekend will be another one for the books because another dear friend and former roomie of mine is GETTING MARRIED!!!! It will be a fantastic night celebrating with the bride and groom, not to mention the rest of our college clan. The only downside is that this will be my first night away from Emma.... and I'm not sure how I'm going to do. I know the wedding in itself will be a distraction because I'll be so busy enjoying time with friends and some adult time with the hubs, but once we get back to that hotel and I'm unable to tuck my baby girl in for the night.... I might just need to drink a lot of wine. In all sincerity, though, Emma will be having a blast because her Grammy and aunties will be sleeping over! Thank the Lord for my family being close because, otherwise, I don't think I would ever leave the house! I am so grateful for the ability to call them up on the fly and know that there is always someone who can be here to help, anytime of day. I hope you know what a blessing you are, my wonderful family!!!! I'm one lucky girl.

I suppose this hasn't been the most thrilling of posts to read, but it's late and my mind only feels capable of spitting out straightforward facts at the moment. I promise to write something more interesting at some point this week, but hey. Now you know what we were up to all weekend, right down to the food we put in our mouths. Doesn't your day feel more complete? ;) I'd like to quickly ask for your prayers between now and Wednesday as I trudge off to yet another doctor, this time for the chronic back pain and sudden excruciating knee pain I've been experiencing. The chiropractor has done squat to help my back and, well, this P90X business has been messing with my knees and just about every other joint in my body. I love to workout and I'm getting so close to my goal weight (more like a goal "range" because, come on, picking a specific number is too much pressure), but I have to wonder if all of these ailments are God's way of forcing me to slow down and find my self-worth in HIM.... not in looks, clothing size, or any number that the scale tries to define me with. Long story short, please pray for a wise and knowledgeable doctor who can give me pain relief and answers.

And now, it's time to take both of the snoring men in my life up to bed and join Emma in a beautiful thing called sleep. :) Goodnight, cyber world!

This is the Stuff

Oh, the things that have made me smile and the day isn't even over yet! It is surprisingly warm out today. The wind is atrocious, but we won't go there. I was able to take Emma out without spending 10 minutes bundling her up, which I am always grateful for. We drove to my parents' house this morning so Emma could spend some time with her Grammy while I ran an errand at Trader Joe's, and the car ride alone was so much fun. You know that feeling of nostalgia that comes over you when you suddenly hear a song on the radio that you haven't heard in for-EVER? There were several oldies but goodies on the radio this morning, including one old singer with a new song. Okay.... so Nelly isn't really old, but hearing his voice immediately brings me back to freshman year of high school and listening to "Country Grammar" while working at the beach. Not only did Nelly bring me back to high school today, but the sound of his voice made me chuckle with laughter as I thought about the number of times Scott and I have cracked up at his songs. Anyone who has heard a Nelly song knows the singing "style" he is famous for--the "UH! UH! UH! UH!" that follows almost every line he says. Even better is that his "UH!" is more like an "OI!" It's truly the funniest thing in the world to listen to, so go ahead and find yourselves a Nelly tune to jam to and I promise you won't be sorry!

After dropping a happy baby off with an even happier Grammy, I made my way to Trader Joe's for my errand.... a wine errand. Only four dollars for a bottle of their "finest" Charles Shaw, and you know what? It's delicious! I asked Scott how many bottles he wanted me to buy and immediately knew that was a pointless question. I always know how many bottles he wants me to buy. Twelve. A full case of wine. We do this because the closest Trader Joe's is almost a half hour away and we like to stock up when we can. It really is smart shopping. In fact, I wish I could just wear a sign around my neck that says "Smart Shopper" for the other customers and cashiers who look at me like I'm an alcoholic. That's right. The worst but funniest part of these bi-yearly wine trips is that I must endure stares that say, "Go find an AA meeting!" Oh well, let 'em stare right?!

Fast forward to an hour ago when Scott came home from work. No sooner did he walk through the door than our furry child Maximus decides to let one rip. Of course, my candle obsessed husband (thanks to his Yankee Candle-luvin' wife!) lights the new candle he bought me (or really himself) for Valentine's Day--Fresh Linen. "This is what the house should always smell like, Emma. Clean laundry and Italian sausage!" (Inside joke for those of you who know my husband and his love for Italian meats ;) ) This brought back memories of a late-night conversation we had with friends back in college, trying to come up with some big hit candle scents for men. Next thing you know, I'm googling "Italian sausage candle" and (warily) seeing if any such thing already exists. My search brought us to this awesome website. I know this might be out of the ordinary for me to say, but please oh please check out the description for the Stripper Candle. Scott and I were in tears. For someone to actually create and SELL a candle like this.... priceless.

As a final note, I'd love to leave you all with a chance to listen to a new song by Francesca Battistelli called "This is the Stuff." It's such a great song, both light-hearted and meaningful all at once. I've already played it about five times in the past hour because, well, it simply brings a smile to my face and puts a spring in my step! It's a song that is so relevant to where I and so many other women have been emotionally in recent days, so my hope is that you'll appreciate and love it as much as I do :)

Good Day

Two posts in one day! I know.... it's shocking. Emma is tucked in for the night all snug as a bug, Max is passed out on the couch, Scott is studying the night away for his big PE test in April, and here I sit to think about my day. Today was a good day, which is surprising after the terrible evening I had last night. For those of you who don't know me as well, I tend to be hard on myself.... and that's putting it lightly. As thrilled as I am to be a stay-at-home mommy to Emma and a hard-working housewife for my hubby, I still fall into these pits of self-loathing and disgust with myself. Am I raising Emma to the best of my ability and giving her all that she needs? Am I doing my job here at home the best that I can, or should I beat myself up because I chose to sit mindlessly on the computer for an hour instead of vacuuming up Max's hair? Did I really need to have that extra snack today and why oh why  can I not lose that last 10 pounds of baby weight? I debate these things as I go about my day until, inevitably, I sit down at the end of the night and feel like crying because of what an epic failure I am. Okay, so I know that I'm not really a failure (at least not an epic one), but if there is one thing I do need to work on then it is my sense of self-worth and confidence. The weight of these thoughts came crashing down upon me last night, and as much as my poor Scott tried to comfort me, it was only after a late-night phone call to my mom that I was able to put the day to rest and get some sleep. That all being said, you can see how I would not have expected this day to be one for the books. Well folks, God sure did prove me wrong! The morning was a little rocky as my head started to swim with everything that "needed" to be done today, but that's right where God met me. During Emma's morning nap, I paid a visit to one of my new favorite devotional websites (see the button to the right). I found myself reading about surrendering our to-do lists to God and choosing to focus on one thing at a time, starting with Jesus. I also read about finding significance where we are and knowing that everything we do has a purpose because, well, we are all right where God wants us to be. Spending that time in God's word and seeing myself the way HE sees me brought more comfort than you will ever know. God created me to be exactly who I am, and it's about time I start loving that girl a little more and ragging on her a tiny bit less!

So, my bits of sunshine for today? So many! After a refreshing two-mile walk with Emma and Max, enjoying some beautiful fresh air, I got in the kitchen and made a recipe from this fantastically superb blog --Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough "Truffles." They were easy, delicious, and took no time at all to make.I was forced to break out my sad and lonely food processor, and you know what? I need to use that baby more often because.... wow. Such a useful tool in the kitchen. However, the thing--no, the person--who made my afternoon over-the-top wonderful was none other than my sweetie pie baby girl. I brought her Baby Einstein seat into the kitchen so she could play as I cooked, and every time I looked down to talk to her I was greeted with this heart-melting face:

It quickly turned into a cute little game where I would say (in my goofiest high-pitched Mommy voice, of course), "Whooooo's the prettiest girl in the world?" As if on cue, Emma would flash me that ear-to-ear grin and giggle like I was the funniest person in the world. How's that to make all of your (no, MY) foolish problems just disappear? 

Starting Fresh

Well, it looks like my leave of absence from the blogging world didn't last all that long! However, the short time that I was away gave me a chance to gain a fresh perspective on some things. Blogging should not be a stressful part of any one's life. Period. It should be an outlet for one's thoughts and a way to share life with those who can't be with you every day. Instead, I was finding my blog to be a big source of stress and frustration. I don't think I understood why at the time, but looking back I can understand it much more clearly. My original blog was started during a nasty time in my life. I was in the middle of a wave of miscarriages and searching for answers to the "why" questions of life. It then turned into a way for me to document our journey through even more miscarriages, fertility testing, and a corrective surgery for myself. I was sharing a lot of private information with the world, but I do believe that sharing my story with others is what kept me going most days. It allowed me to not feel so alone in the midst of such turmoil. Eventually (praise God!), my sad little blog turned into the story of our precious Emma Grace--the pregnancy, her birth, and those first few months of her life. I felt happy and complete, and my blog could finally move on from sad days to much brighter ones. Simple, right? Not so much. I just couldn't kick my frustration with that blog no matter how hard I tried. I even attempted to post about things completely out of the ordinary for me--everything from crafts I've made to recipes I've tried but would never choose to bore you with because, let's face it, I'm not that good! When these attempts at a blog"face-lift" turned into epic fails, I decided it was time to kick the blog all together because it had become something I couldn't make sense of. I now see that my former blog, as much as I cherish it, was covered in memories that I don't want to be reminded of. The things that have happened in my life are forever a part of who I am. They have changed me and shaped me into the woman and mother I am today.... but that doesn't mean I want to be reminded of those dark times every day. What I was desperately searching for was a change. A fresh start. Something that says life is GOOD! No, correction--GREAT!

So, without further ado, I welcome you to my family's new blog--Little Rays of Sunshine. :) I have to admit that I absolutely love the title of it, too. Scott and I feel like we are living every day in the sunshine of our little girl, watching her grow and change with each passing moment. In fact, "little sunshine" is a nickname I use for her quite a bit. It's so easy to get bogged down by the world, but not matter how down I feel, Emma's beautiful face reminds me of the blessings we have in this life. I am so excited to be sharing life with you as we live it, and while I know there will be days where I share the good, the bad, and the ugly, my hope is to find those little rays of sunshine to focus on and be grateful for. They make life a blessing, don't they?