Dinosaurs and Angry Birds

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here. 


This week was kind of a whirlwind of activity as we celebrated my son's 7th birthday (several times, over the whole week. That's kind of how we do it around here.) We started with the new Star Trek movie and dinner at his favorite Chinese restaurant to kick off the birthday week, continued with a fun day out on Tuesday (for his actual birthday) and finished off with his birthday party this past Saturday.

We had his party at the Arizona Museum of Natural History (affectionately called "the dinosaur museum" for obvious reasons.) It's a fabulous museum, and - as I've mentioned, a couple of times, perhaps - one of our favorite places. It's also, it turns out, a great place to host a birthday party.

I know different people have different views on birthdays, ranging from "It's all about me today" to "It's just another day - no big deal" (and everything in between.) Personally, I've always kind of felt like a person's birthday should be special for them - a day to celebrate being alive.

And even more so for my kids. It's been suggested over the years that perhaps I go a bit overboard for their birthdays. But I say there's no such thing. Those two kids are my world, and I am eternally grateful that they exist. And while I try to show them that every day, I still want to take advantage of every birthday as a chance for a special reminder of how happy I am that they were born.


Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!

And if you're a blogger and would like to get in on the LML fun, feel free to grab the code and join the blog hop! Your post doesn't specifically have to use the "LML" label (although you're welcome to use it if you'd like, and the graphic that goes along with it.) If you have any kind of happy, positive Monday message that you'd like to share you're welcome to join. The more happy vibes, the better the Monday!

LML Monday - Wings & Memories

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.


When my husband and I were out celebrating our anniversary this weekend, we ended up at Teakwoods for dinner. (Great wings + great Long Island iced tea = good times!) Usually we go there with the kids (because it's one of their favorite places too) but this time, thanks to Grandma, we had a night to ourselves.

It was nice to have a "date night" to celebrate the special occasion. But because we're parents, the conversation inevitably turned to the kids, and the good times we've had over the years, and all the cuteness we've witnessed. Eventually my husband brought out his phone and we pulled up some videos.

So we sat eating our hot wings, watching video clips of our adorable children. Like our son trying egg nog for the first time. And teaching his sister how to eat a sucker. And a special Father's Day message they recorded for my husband a few years ago. (I couldn't get the videos to upload, but you can follow the links if you want to see them.)

It was a great night with my husband, and a great time seeing all of this cuteness that we created together. With a family like this, how could I not love my life?


Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!

And if you're a blogger and would like to get in on the LML fun, feel free to grab the code and join the blog hop! Your post doesn't specifically have to use the "LML" label (although you're welcome to use it if you'd like, and the graphic that goes along with it.) If you have any kind of happy, positive Monday message that you'd like to share you're welcome to join. The more happy vibes, the better the Monday!

And Then I Fell in Love

One of my favorite songs in the '90s was Michael Peterson's "Love's Great." It was all about how wonderful it was being single, and how committed he was to that life. Because love's great (when you're not in it.)

It was totally tongue-in-cheek, of course, and very funny. But for most of my teens and early twenties, it was also kind of my anthem. I swore that being single was the way to be, and couldn't imagine ever wanting to be married.

It wasn't that I had anything against the institution. I just liked being my own person, and didn't think I could ever be happy sharing my life so closely with another person.

And then he came along.

I wasn't looking for it, and I didn't expect it. But it was so obviously meant to be. So I said yes, and haven't regretted it for a minute.

And so today, as I celebrate 11 years of being married to my best friend and the love of my life, all I can say is... thank goodness I was wrong. Love's great, especially when you're in it.

The Tooth Fairy Cometh

Yesterday was a very exciting day in our house. My little man finally lost his first tooth. And about two hours later (thanks in large part to a BBQ chicken wing) he lost the second one.

We had been playing the waiting game for a while. His two front teeth kept getting wigglier and wigglier... but were still holding on. We even tried a few times to pull them, but no luck. His new teeth had even started coming in. But still the baby teeth clung on.

But when they're ready, they're ready. And yesterday was finally the day.

By this point he was a little too excited to stand still (hence the blurry picture.) But his excitement was understandable. Not only is losing your first tooth (or teeth) a big deal in itself... it also means the first visit from the Tooth Fairy. And since he had lost the first two on the same day, he just knew that she was going to bring him something extra-special.

And he was right. This is what he woke up to this morning.

And of course the Tooth Fairy had to bring him enough to share, after what I overheard last night. He told his sister that, since he had lost two teeth he figured the Tooth Fairy would probably bring him two things, so he was sure he would have enough to share with her. Something that sweet just has to be rewarded. :)

A bit much? Perhaps. But that's just how we roll around here. Milestones are meant to be celebrated. And let's be honest, getting to create these little moments is absolutely one of the best parts of parenthood.

How about you? Have a favorite Tooth Fairy memory? I'd love to hear it!

LML Monday - Cub Scouts & BBQ Wings

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.

Cub Scouts
This weekend was my son's first Blue & Gold Banquet with Cub Scouts. It was quite the event, and very exciting. He received his Tiger Badge that he has been working toward all year, as well as several other awards. I'm very proud of my little man. But even more, I'm so happy to see him take pride in himself and his accomplishments.

BBQ Wings
As some of you know, my daughter has quite a love for BBQ chicken. And so from time to time we go out to one of our favorite joints for wings. Partly because we all like to eat them. But largely because we get to see this face. And who wouldn't want to do that as often as possible?

Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and have a great week!

The First Year

Last night it occurred to me that today is my anniversary. It was one year ago today that I went under the knife and became the proud owner of my very own spinal cord stimulator. And yes, dear friends, this feels like an event worth commemorating. (I kind of feel like I should have baked a cake or something.)

As with any relationship, my stimulator and I had a bit of an adjustment period. We had to get used to each other. Some wounds had to heal. We had to figure out who was in charge. It was definitely not love at first sight. But I am happy to say that we've put our differences behind us, and ours is now a happy, healthy, beneficial relationship.

If you've been with me this whole time (of if you've gone back to the beginning and read all about the journey) then you know that the surgery (or mostly the recovery) was not even a little bit easy. But you also know that I would do it again in a heartbeat. When it comes to the CRPS pain, it has made a world of difference.

But there is another, very important thing that I've learned from all of this: The spinal cord stimulator is not effective for every kind of pain. For the CRPS, it works wonders. I don't have nearly the pain I used to have. (I still feel some of it now and then, but it is nothing close to what it used to be.) Unfortunately for me, though, the CRPS is not my only problem, or my only source of chronic pain.

Going into this, my doctor and I had kind of been cautiously optimistic that, since the stimulator was being placed in my neck, it might also be able to help the other pain that is being caused by my oddly misshapen spine. But sadly it has not. The unit is set up so that I can get stimulation to that area. Unfortunately the pain is such that the stimulation just doesn't mask it.

Obviously it's disappointing that the stimulator couldn't do it all, but we knew that might be the case. (And we're still working on other ideas for the neck pain. Hopefully one day in the not too distant future I'll have some good news to report there.) For now I will continue to be very happy that at least I was able to get some much needed relief in one area.

And so, because it's my anniversary (and because I really like balloons), here's today's little bit of happy: