79!!!!

What is the significance of this number, you ask? It is the passing score that Rich just received on a section of the CPA exam. Those of you who know me well realize that I talk about this a lot. For the past year, Rich has been studying his brains out most days, and feeling guilty about not studying when he does anything fun.

We have both decided that a CPA license is in our best interest and a worthy goal to pursue. However, when it comes to the nitty gritty of studying, it has been a major pain in the butt!

Tuesday was such a relief when we found out he finally passed another section of the exam. His hard work is paying off. Only two more sections to go! Wish him luck! His next exam is tomorrow, the 28th. Good luck Rich! No one deserves it more than you!

The Cheerleader

Sometimes life is kind of a bummer. Sometimes we get bogged down with climbing the corporate ladder, sick kids, never ending snow storms, whining, mountains of laundry, teething, and CPA exams that are nearly impossible to pass. I am a cheery person by nature, therefore it has fallen on me to be our family cheerleader. I'm usually happy to do the job. In fact, I feel like it's one of my talents. But what's a mom to do when she doesn't feel like cheering?

A few weeks ago I'd had it. I was just plain tired of it all. So guess what I did? I looked at the big picture (and ate a half a bag of chocolate chips). This might seem obvious to most, but performing this simple task made everything look a little more rosy. If I ask myself three simple questions, I always end up feeling better. They are, how will this (decision, event, time in my life) affect me in 10 minutes, 10 days, and 10 years?

Okay. Most things don't change in 10 minutes, but some do. Whining can come and go in a matter of seconds! In 10 days, the kids probably won't be sick anymore and there may even be sunshine outside. In 10 years, I will be so glad that we endured long hours of studying until Rich had his CPA license. I'm sure we will look back at this time and say, "it was so fun and so worth it"! Look how much character building we accomplished!

Anyway, I realize that I am so blessed. I'm feeling much better now and can resume my job as the family cheerleader.

Future Hugh Hefner?

Carson is quite the stud in his new Spiderman robe.

Crafty Kids

How did I get blessed with a child that constantly wants to do crafts? I'm the least crafty person on earth! Sophie loves them. She even wanted to make homemade Valentines cards this year. I thought it would be an easy, fun project. However, it took 2 shopping trips, $17, and 3 hours of hard work to put these babies together. I hope it was worth it!

Curls are for...boys?

Holy cow! All of a sudden Cameron's hair is turning curly. I don't know what to do with curly boy hair! It looks pretty cute on him though.

Tagged...

The rules:
1) Link to the person that tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6) Let the fun begin!

Let's see...6 quirky things about me? Where do I begin?

1. I'm kind of a nazi (with my family). I don't allow TV in the bedroom, my kids can only watch TV at certain hours during the day, and we eat dinner at 5:30 on the dot pretty much every night. On the other hand, I'm easy going about a lot of things.

2. I'm a good listener. I genuinely love to listen people talk about themselves and tell their story.

3. I'm a people pleaser. I like to be agreeable and always want everyone to like me. If I offend someone, it is really difficult for me to deal with.

4. My biggest fear is of rejection. I don't plan activities because I'm afraid people won't want to come. It's hard for me to call people on the phone because my first thought is, "what if they don't want to talk to me?" Logically I know it's ridiculous but I still deal with it all the time.

5. I have an adventurous spirit. I'm willing to try new things that some people might find scary such as scuba diving, camping on the beach in Mexico (my idea), and I'll try any kind of food!

6. I bite my nails and pick at the my thumbs. I've been doing this as long as I can remember. I don't bite them to the point that they hurt, just so I don't have to clip them. I know this is a terrible habit but it's subconscious at this point!

Well Kristen, thanks for letting me perform this little self evaluation. I realize I've got a lot of work to do!

I tag Emily, Terrie, and Jenni.

Shave it!

So I'd been having a bad hair day for the last six months. After each of my pregnancies, my hair falls out for about six months! Hormones are beautiful things. I figure I've lost half of my hair. Even when I would take the time and effort to blow dry and flat iron, it soon ended up in a ponytail. I needed some help! So, last Saturday, I cut my hair SHORT. I can't decide if I like it. I think it's a little too mushroomish. My mom didn't even recognize me! I tend to do make major changes in my life on a whim. If I think too much about it, I back out. So, here's to a new me! p.s. How come I can never make my hair look the same way it did the first day?

I give in

I've been fighting the urge to blog for quite some time now. I have some friends that are into it and it seemed fun, but I resisted. I kind of feel like I'm letting all the peeping toms in the world in on my thoughts. However, I like to try new things and I need to expand my comfort zone. If nothing else, it will be a good way to journal and brush up on my rusty writing skills! So, here goes nothing!