Being home alone is not what it is cut out to be. Movies and entertainment portray a night home alone as a time to be completely relaxed, paint your toe nails, and do whatever you want! Sadly, that isn’t reality. Being home alone is actually very, very lonely. If I know Cody is going to be gone for the night it just sets something off inside of me. I don’t want to do anything but wallow in self pity and eat junk food. Or clean, which is VERY rare!

Tonight I was invited to a girls night and was looking forward to having an excuse to get out for the night. Of course because it was planned Ellenor decided that she did not want to cooperate and needed a lot of sleep. I figured that since I already needed to run into town to return a redbox that I might as well grab another one… or two… and invite my long lost friends over, Ben and Jerry. More specifically half baked. DELICIOUS! Cody doesn’t let me get it so it was a nice little treat. Not to mention the strawberries, grapes, and bananas I got as well. I was feeling guilty over all that chocolate so I couldn't not invite them!

So what do you do when you are home alone with a grumpy baby who is rioting eating and sleeping? Make it a party with good food with an invitation for only one.

I was feeling down about not being able to go tonight and texted my friend Kayla to let her know I wouldn’t be going. I think part of my problem is I look forward to things so much, especially when it is something outside of the house and it isn’t cooking, cleaning, or doing homework. On her way over to the party she brought me chocolate chip cookies!!! It is amazing what great timing people can have. Just as I was feeling like I didn’t have any friends in the area and feeling even more alone, there she was. It wasn’t any big, grand gesture but just that simple act of kindness, of taking the time to make a quick little stop made the biggest difference in the world. I need to act on those little promptings to help others more often; you can make a great difference without knowing the impact that you have.

Last weekend we were at Target, I was headed to the dressing room when I came across a man in his mid thirties on one of the motorized carts. He had a cast on his leg that extended to just below the knee and his cart was not working. He had a distressed look on his face and kept pushing the buttons trying to make it work. But I just walked right passed him. I turned right after I passed him about to offer to help him but another man beat me to it. Right as the other man offered to help him the cart started up and he declined the offer but thanked him. I should have taken that opportunity instead of being so involved in what I was doing. I am so selfish it’s disgusting. I am watching We Bought a Zoo and I absolutely love it. All it honestly takes is 20 seconds of courage to change the course of a life. Here's to more 20 second opportunities!

 

On a lighter note, also known as miss Ellenor, she is getting to be more fun every single day. She reminds me to just take time and enjoy things. She loves to be outside. I wait to go check the mail because just the whole two minutes it takes to walk to the mail box and back makes the biggest difference to her. She loves to look at everything and is fascinated by new people and new sounds. She tries so hard to crawl and to do things that she just can’t quite do. She gets to frustrated because she is almost there and will rock back and forth.

 

 

She is my reminder to start every day fresh. Just because the day before may not have been the best, there will always be a new morning waiting. The morning is when she is at her prime. We will often lie in bed while Cody is getting ready and just look at each other. Sometimes I cry and sometimes she does to but most of the time she just smiles at me and you would think that nothing else could make her any more happy than just being in that moment with you. It is those simple moments, looking at her, that I know that there is nothing else I would rather be doing than taking care of this sweet spirit and learning so much from her. She is my greatest teacher.

We are very culturally diverse. Tonight for dinner the plan was to have spaghetti, the meat was already thawing out on the counter when we decided to make a quick trip to the store. While at the store Cody decided that since I made chicken fried rice last night he really needed egg rolls to go along with our dinner tonight. Gross idea, I know. But I agreed because I was famished! Ok maybe not that starving but I was still hungry. By the time we had gotten home it turned into egg rolls and french fries. Hello freezer and thank you for the meal!

We also rented the Help from Redbox. I love Cody and I. Always, without fail, always right after we have a discussion about cutting back on excess things and saving money we spend money on things that are not absolute necessities. Tonight it was frozen egg rolls and a redbox. Oh well. It makes for a great night. Not to mention a happy, content baby to add to the relaxing atmosphere.

A random thought about this movie... I love Celia Foote's relationship with Johnny. He is so in love with his wife that nothing else matters. He doesn't care about her insecurities and just wants to be the best husband for her. I just love it. I wish they would show more of it in the movie, it was my favorite thing about the book.

"You is smart. You is kind. You is important." Randomly I will hear Cody repeating these to Ellenor. It makes me melt every. single. time.

Ellenor is my favorite form of  free entertainment. (She isn't really cheap, we just dropped $200 this past weekend on diapers and formula but you get what I mean) While she drinks her bottle, usually on the floor because she arches her back and thinks its funner to play when I am holding her, she will pull it out of her mouth and just stare at it as if she is examining a moon rock. 

Girls camp is next week and I have very mixed feelings. I am nervous to leave Ellenor overnight just because I am afraid she will be a nightmare. She can be a complete pill, more often than you'd think. I am also anxious for girls camp because it is so short, barely over two full days. I know for me it was something that I needed every summer and I am afraid that these girls wont get as much out of it as they would if it was a full week like it normally is. We will make the most out of it and I already have a few tricks up my sleeve for my girls, they are in for a real treat. I know it will be good and they will have fun. I just hope they will be able to have the opportunity spend time together and grow spiritually from one another. 

 

 

 

 

We told Chase to open his eyes.

Act surprised!

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching Jessica how to ride!

A few things as I am sitting here about to scarf down an entire bag of buttered popcorn while watching Count of Monte Cristo (one of Cody’s favorites!)…

-I knew if I didn’t post these pictures I wouldn’t get around to it… so here is the biggest picture overload that will ever exist on this blog. Well, maybe.
-A few funny things about these pictures. 1. Avery is absolutely adorable and is going to seriously break some hearts when she is older. 2. We told Chase to stand by the tree and then take two steps forward he continued to lean on the tree and move his feet outwards. 3. Ethan makes AMAZING silly faces and he looks a lot older than 5 years old. 4. We Carter girls (now Dain, Rindlisbacher, and Searle) make the cutest babies ever.
-My sisters are my best friends. It was amazing to all be in the same place at one time. It needs to happen more often!
-Putting babies right next to each other is hilarious, they love to touch each other’s faces and give disapproving and shocked expressions when it happens right back to them.
-The most fun thing about going to Utah was seeing my brother Jeremy play with Ellenor. I think she really likes him but I am disappointed I didn’t get a picture of them playing together. He laughs at everything she does and she smiles right back in return.
-Looking at pictures of Cody and I on that bike makes me smile. We got to have a little us time (30 whole minutes!) and went for a drive up through the canyon at sunset. It was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l!
-Also looking at these pictures makes me SOOOOOOOOOOO so very excited to get our pictures already! We had them taken right before we took cousin pictures and I already know that they will be fantastic!!!

Other random thoughts…
-It’s almost embarrassing to write but it is a victory for me. I bought a swimsuit from a real store, not a plus size store! I love post baby shrinkage!
-I cannot get motivated to run for longer than 20-30 minutes on the treadmill. Any suggestions?!?!
-Postal system is dumb. I need my book to be here already so I can get started on my homework that is due on Wednesday.
-I am seriously inhaling this popcorn and I should really put it away!


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND
-I got the best call ever tonight. Cody was in the driveway with his cousin when I went out bawling, they both thought someone had died. But I don’t want to jinx it and have it not work out but June 30^th should be a very, very, very special day for my sister and we couldn’t be happier!