Mess making at Aunt Brittany's & Uncle Jon's

Wednesday was a wonderful night!

Jon and I had Andrea (Mazie and Ryder), Coley (Brady and Daisy),
and Miss Chanda (sick babes left at home) over for an eventful kiddo night...
We made homemade pizza and a huge homemade cookie... okay, so I baked them,
but the young ladies fixed up the pizza and Brady
helped the ladies with decorating the cookie!

They did it all by themselves... Notice how they made
1/2 mozzarella & 1/2 Mexican cheese. I love it!!!!

Great teamwork and sharing!

Super Cute and Tasty

They enjoyed licking the frosting off the
cookie more than the cookie itself!

The Mommies and I caught up and laughed! Jon watched football with Brady who hung
out with him for the majority of the evening!

It was a great evening! Can't wait to do it again!!!

Family Dinners

My husband has a magic with his family that I don't understand. Let me start with some background. Jon is the oldest grand kid of 8 and the first to be married. I am the newest addition to the family since Ryan (who is now 10). Jon and I live next to his loving and wonderful grandparents. His Aunt Deb and Uncle G live 10 minutes away, his Uncle M and Aunt D live 8 minutes away, and his mom & sister live in Shelton (45 minutes).

Just over a year ago Jon and I went to his mom's for dinner in her new home. Jon had arranged for Nanna, Gramps, Aunt Deb and the kids to be there as well. Momma didn't know that Jon was inviting everyone. So once he had a head count she had to run to the store to buy more food for dinner, but she was thrilled. It was the first time the family would see her new home and everyone was buzzing with excitement. At lease that's what I thought all the buzz was about... Unbeknown to me, Jon was proposing that evening during dinner.

While I ran some errands that morning, Jon called my dad, mom, and siblings asking for my hand in marriage and inviting them to dinner at his mom's. (They weren't able to make it but he still got their blessings). Then he called everyone in his family, explained what he was doing, and asked them to join. I'm guessing he thought with an audience I wouldn't be able to say no :) That was the first time I saw Jon round everyone up.

On Jon's way home from work last night he called me to tell me he wanted Godfather's Pizza. Since our plans had fallen through just moments prior I agreed that a laid back dinner out would be great... No cooking or dish washing for me! 15 minutes later he walked in the front door and told me the family was joining for dinner at 6:30. I refer to it as Jon's magic, because a family gathering usually requires advance notice and lots of planning. Jon however, can arrange the majority of the family to be there in less than two hours. It's amazing to me!

My family gathers on holidays, big birthdays, graduations, births, weddings, etc. Now this is a slight generalization because my family is huge; there are always exceptions to the rules... i.e. My Dad's side of the family tries to do a camping trip (we refer to it as "Family Camp") one week out of every summer. Last year My mom's parent's took the whole family on a week long Alaskan Cruise for their 50th anniversary. My step-dad's family does a pre-holiday party. You get the point. :)

Living so close to my husbands family is wonderful, but it makes me miss mine! When I was younger I resented my dad for always moving further and further away from where I was. Now that I'm an adult I've done the same thing!!! There never seems to be enough time in a day, but I need to find it... I know that the older I get the more busy I am.

To my family near and far: I love you and miss you all! XOXOXO's

Sleep Sweet Sleep

I know every one's concerned about my sleeping problems, so I'm happy to report that sleep is again my friend! I started sleeping last week, but it was still hit or miss with how much and how restful it was. I had a head cold over the weekend where NyQuil knocked me out and I was pretty prepared to start week two back at work. Monday I met with my new doctor who changed my medication for sleep. I'm afraid of being dependant on medications and the one I was taking can be addicting. So now I'm taking something else that's non-habit forming. The best part is that it works!

Yesterday was the middle of the week and I was pretty tired. After I got off work I went home and thought "gee, I could use a nap." I thought I'd lay down for an hour or so and watched some TV. I laid down on my bed, wrapped up in blankets and watched about 15 minutes of TV before I was out. Jon woke me up when he came home around 4pm. I slept for 2.5 hours! Obviously I needed a nap. The best part... I was able to sleep last night despite the nap.

Friday

Fridays!!! I've always loved them, but today... this Friday is a bit more significant. It marks the end of my first week back to work. I'm glad to be back, but it's tough. My energy is low, but physically I'm feeling well, with the exception of my pants rubbing on my scar. I hoped returning to work with the early morning schedule would help me sleep and it has. Wednesday night I slept from 10-6, a whole 8 hours!!! I woke up occasionally, but it was a restful night! Last night I slept too! Not a full 8 hours, but still pretty good. Next week I'll be working the same schedule. I'm still not ready for full time and the longer days. Things are going better... sleep is helping my moods and emotions!