Just wanted to say~ Happy Valentine’s Day and thanks for all the “get well” messages!  Hope you had a wonderful day with your loved ones.  I’m still sick so we just had a low key day.  I’ll have to live vicariously through you so please tell me what fabulous things you did for Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s x 3

  

Park Day

Evan & Bella love going to the park together!  My in-laws have a really nice park near their house so we love spending time there.

[Same expression, different year.]

Valentine’s Through the Years

I love holidays so I was a bit sad we wouldn’t be able to do anything this year.  I started looking through old photos and I realized we’ve had so many great celebrations that it’s okay if we miss a holiday here or there.  More so than the cute color coordinated outfits or fancy meals…Valentine’s Day is about appreciating all of the people you love.  A special day to take a look at those around you and be so thankful that they’re healthy, happy and that you have the privilege of loving them.  

[2008 - Before Evan when it was just the three of us.]

[2008 - Pregnant with Evan in Taiwan.]

[2010 - Evan was at home while we had a major sushi feast!]

Oh No… 

I was just about to post this entry and I got some bad news.  Bella ate some chocolate today.  We didn’t think it was that serious but our vet said we should take her to the emergency room.  I just got a call from Andy saying that it’s more serious than we thought.  They said we could leave her there (for $1600) or monitor her at home all night.  We’re going to start by watching her at home.  We have to take her out every hour and make sure she doesn’t fall asleep.  I’ll be up all night praying for my little one.  I’m trying to stay positive but I get so scared thinking about what could possibly happen.  Please pray for Bella…she has to be okay.    

[Update:  Thank you so much for your prayers!  We made it through the night.  Now the more time that goes by the better she’ll get.  What a fiasco!  I got so scared when the doctor said things like heart attack and brain aneurysm.  Thank goodness she’s doing well now and I can stop closely monitoring her in about 7 more hours!]    

[A photo from our 1 year dating anniversary and another photo 7 years later!]

Hi buddies!  We have been so sick over here in Skippeeland~ Evan has had a cold on and off and I’ve had a stomach virus.  I feel like I haven’t done a single productive thing in the past few weeks.  I’m so sorry for all the late responses to e-mails/messages.  I know waiting more than a week to respond to a message is unthinkable in “Internet time” but I just haven’t had the energy to be on my computer at all!  Thank goodness for my awesome in-laws who one day drove 2 hours in traffic to get to our place early so I wouldn’t have to wake up and for my mom who changed her work schedule last minute to help me.  Thanks to my friends who take the time out of their busy schedules to check up on us even though it seems like we’ve been sick for ages!  Thank you, thank you…

Family Dance Party

Since I’ve been so sick my poor little guy has been cooped up for so many days at home with a sick mama.  One day I was so sad that we had to miss a birthday party that I cried!  We tried to make it up to him by taking him to a family dance party so we could dance our worries away.

Rainy Days

[Did you notice that Bella is showing off her rainy day look in the background?]

When Evan was just a wee newborn I saw the cutest rain outfit on sale for $25 at Target.  I had to wait a long time for Evan to fit into these and for when it was actually raining.  He did throw a major tantrum when I tried to get him to wear the boots but as soon as we got in the rain he was a happy camper.  I really wanted him to experience the carefree wonder of walking around on a rainy day. 

 

Resolutions

So…have you been keeping up with your resolutions?  I read somewhere that a big chunk of people have given up on their resolutions by February.  I hope that’s not the case with you!  This year I made some very specific resolutions~ thinking that would help me keep them.  Here are just a two:

Easing up on gift giving…

If you know me well you know that one of my favorite things to do is give people gifts.  I’m always on the lookout for gifts for my friends.  If I find something great then often I’m buying 5 of the same item!  Over the years though I’ve realized that not every gift is liked or welcomed~ lol!  I think I expend too much time/energy/money on this gift giving thing.  I need to limit myself.  I’m only going to get gifts if I’m pretty sure the person will like it and if I can give it to them right away. 

Here’s another part of my problem…I buy all these gifts and sometimes the timing isn’t right or for whatever reason I have boxes filled with unclaimed gifts.

[White fluffy dog not included.]

Okay, so now do you see why it’s a problem?  Well, I’m going to fix it!  Part of my resolution is to give away every single item in all 4+ boxes.  I just want to make sure I find the right owners.  I’ll post stuff here when I can!  Now, please tell me one of your “issues” so I’m not so embarrassed about revealing my gift giving problem!

Limiting Facebook…

I think Facebook is an awesome way to keep up with friends and share photos BUT I also see how much of a time vacuum it can be.  As a busy mom I realized I couldn’t fully devote my time to both Facebooking & blogging.  I had to make a choice and I chose blogging.  My blog is my virtual scrapbook and memory keeper.  I can look back at posts from years ago and your comments can still make me cry and laugh.  I cherish the connection between my posts and my friends who comment. 

So, I apologize in advance if I can’t be one of those Facebook buddies who can comment on every single photo and status update right away.  I’ll try when I can but I realize I’m bad at time management and I need to impose rules on myself so I can be more productive.  My rules are…(1) I can only Facebook if I have nothing pressing waiting for me (like Evan, chores, etc.), (2) if it’s someone’s birthday and (3) I won’t feel guilty about it.  I think the last one will be the hardest~ lol! 

Goldwyn

Meet Goldwyn.  I adopted him way back when I was working at a law firm and our client, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM), had a private sale.  From the moment I brought him home he’s had a special place in Bella’s heart.  

  

Thanks!

Thanks for listening to my rambling!  Can you tell I’ve been cooped up and out of touch?!  I hope you’re staying healthy and planning something great for Valentine’s Day!  

[My friend Sam said the cutest thing~ that we had to take a photo of them together since it might be in their wedding slideshow one day.  I laughed so much!  Thanks buddy~ for even thinking of marrying off your beautiful princess to our little prince!]