One Sunday each month, my chore list doesn’t include laundry or cleaning the bathrooms (which comprise the other three Sundays). In fact, yesterday I even skipped the bimonthly task of towel laundry. There were a few household chores that were completed, as always with the help of my wonderful husband, but it was a regular Sunday. A fantastic regular Sunday… my favorite kind.

Andrew didn’t nap. (In fact, he spent 30 minutes crying in his bed, and I found him with a face covered in snot and a tear/snot-soaked sheet. Still feeling under the weather.) The USA didn’t win the hockey game against Canada. I didn’t find a new changing mat. I didn’t get to bed early enough. I didn’t complete all of my chores. I didn’t even finish the dishes (a tub of dishwater is still sitting in my kitchen sink).

But, also?

I did go to Costco with the mom & brother (Andrew’s request. He LOVES to ride in Eck’s “truck” and since we didn’t hang out with them Saturday night, Andrew was excited for a quick Costco trip with them on Sunday morning.)

I did have a mundane-but-so-enjoyable outing with my husband & son, including lunch at Andrew’s favorite restaurant, Red Robin. We ordered the “macky cheese” for him which was a huge hit. He scarfed everything in sight, we relished the reality that our son can feed himself with utensils, and Andrew chose a blue balloon on the way out.

I did find some new notecards in the dollar bin at Target (yay!) and some giftwrap supplies that I needed.

I did get a snuggle on the couch with Andrew to watch an entire episode of Olivia. He only snuggles when he’s particularly tired or not feeling well, so I cherish that silver lining.

I did have an awesome husband who completed and filed our taxes… that’s finally off the list!

I did catch up on my daily Bible reading.

I did read Andrew his four night-night books.

I did… um, well, enjoy my day. Very much.

Monday marked five years at my current place of work. It’s not the longest I’ve ever held the same job, but I think it’s pretty swell. I’m really quite fond of my day job.

I actually think my night & weekend job is pretty great, too.

I think I’ll keep both of them.

Once in a while I become conscious of how eclectic my musical taste is. I know a lot of people claim to have a wide variety of musical preferences, but upon further inspection, very few ever seem to enjoy quite as many different kinds of music as I do, especially on a regular basis. There’s always an “except..” As for me: honestly, more than any specific genre, I just like music. Chances are, I’ll listen to whatever you’ve got playing, and I’ll probably enjoy it.

I think that perhaps the preset radio stations in a person’s vehicle might be a good indicator. I generally despise regular radio stations (I can’t STAND commercials or talk radio – and it’s taken me years and years to actually stomach listening to any sports game play-calling on the radio) but you’ll never find me driving without music playing: either a CD or my XM radio. On my XM receiver, there are 10 “favorite” stations per preset number (I think you can set 20 or 30 total, but I only use the first set of 10). So I thought I would share them with you. These are truly the stations I listen to most, each followed by the list of “artists you’ll hear” on that station, according to XM.

On Broadway (show tunes)
* Julie Andrews * Barbra Streisand * Ethel Merman * Jerry Orbach * Angela Lansbury * Carol Channing * Chita Rivera * Gwen Verdon * Joel Grey * Patti LuPone

90s on 9 (90’s pop hits)
* Roxette * Ace Of Base * Pearl Jam * Snoop Dogg * Bon Jovi * Salt-N-Pepa * Melissa Etheridge * Jennifer Lopez * Alanis Morrissette * Dave Matthews Band

BPM (dance hits)
* David Guetta * Bob Sinclar * Paul van Dyk * Kaskade * Madonna * Tiesto * Britney Spears * Kim Sozzi * Justin Timberlake

Pops (classical pops)
* Boston Pops * Cincinnati Pops * James Galway * Joshua Bell * George Gershwin * John Williams * John Philip Sousa

80s on 8 (80’s pop hits)
* Madonna * Def Leppard * Huey Lewis & The News * Prince * Cyndi Lauper * Michael Jackson * Journey * Bon Jovi * Bangles * Duran Duran

20 on 20 (top 20 hits)
* Black Eyed Peas * Lady Gaga * Nickelback * Taylor Swift * Katy Perry * Daughtry

Radio Disney (kids and tweens)
* Aly & AJ * Jonas Brothers * Zac Efron * Ashley Tisdale * Miley Cyrus * Jesse McCartney * Demi Lovato

The Coffee House (acoustic singer-songwriters)
* Jack Johnson * John Mayer * Tracy Chapman * David Gray * Norah Jones * Ray Lamontagne * Shawn Colvin * Jason Mraz * Indigo Girls

Pop2k (2000’s pop hits)
* Justin Timberlake * Nelly Furtado * Fall Out Boy * Eminem * Bowling For Soup * Avril Lavigne * Britney Spears

I’m currently auditioning the 10th spot. (The 9th and 10th spots are actually the Christmas stations during the holidays, so I have to find an appropriate replacement afterwards.) Here are the prospects so far…

Prime Country (90s country and more)
Mix (continuous music variety)
The Pink Channel (all hit music)
Escape (beautiful music)
Lithium (90’s alternative/grunge)
Spa (new age)

What are you listening to on the radio?

I have a date.

It’s in June. 22 weeks away, but a much anticipated date. What should I wear??

Here are some of the things I’ll be seeing on this date:

Adventurous paths to explore.

Creepy, haunted mansions.

Wild river rapids…

… and a jungle full of wild animals.

The most beautiful white spires in the world.

Runaway minecarts.

A birthday celebration for Pooh.

The Happiest Cruise that Ever Sailed, and the Longest Song You’ll Ever Hear.

All 45 minutes of waiting for these waffle cones are worth it.

And yep, this date is with TWO boys:

Walt and Mickey.

(Oh yes, and two other boys, plus the mom and brother.)

I am so, so, so, SO ready.

(ETA: If you missed it last year, read my eight-part blog post series on me and the DL.)

Last Friday was my husband’s last day at his job. It was his last day as a professional daytime network/system administrator. On Monday, he joins the ranks of code monkeys who program slot machines – aka firmware engineers – aka the lot in life, at some point, of every computer science grad from Nevada.

On the second day of December, in approximately the 628th round of layoffs at his previous job, they gave him the option of being laid off with severance pay, or keeping his current job with an immediate reduction to part time hours and loss of all benefits. Of course he accepted the part-time position, but in the grand tradition of my husband having the most blessed employment history ever, he’d actually already scheduled an interview on that VERY SAME day.

Five weeks later, the employer-to-be called and offered him the job, which he accepted. Since then his background checks & drug tests have completed successfully, and he’s had only to endure a single week of “unemployment” between the conclusion of his “two weeks’ notice” time and the start of his new position. Not a moment too soon – not only were those five weeks of counting-every-minute-on-the-timeclock, completely unappreciated service, but we were also forced to transfer the boys to my health insurance in the interim – an insurance plan which will be changing to a dramatically more expensive one come March.

I know we are so so SO blessed by this turn of events. His last company was a sinking ship. He essentially got the interview & job for the new job through an old friend of his, who was inexplicably diligent about recommending Kyle and checking up on the status of the company’s hiring process (apparently 3-5 weeks is completely the norm). Despite the pay cut at what is possibly the most unforgivable time of year, especially when all of our Christmas gifts were bought and sitting heavily on our credit cards – we had no particular extra concern over money. They paid off his saved-up vacation time and somehow we managed to get out from under everything AND put some away in savings. It was really unconceivable, and the numbers still don’t make sense to me, but we were so completely taken care of. God fed the four thousand with a few loaves of bread. He is faithful!!!

And so. I’ll be living with a programmer. Who has actually always been a programmer – he’s spent most of his free time this week working on his World of Warcraft add-on and even an old game that he and his friend (the now-coworker) wrote together a few years back – but now, I suppose, he’s a programmer by day. And still a super spy- er, admin by night. He still volunteers for the local theater/performing arts center, and he still does computer consultation and service as a side job (at which we’ve been blessed with a new client or two recently).

I’m so proud of my husband. He’s such a great provider for us, even when he doesn’t feel like he’s been up to par. Even when he’s approaching a completely new type of job, one for which we are both trained, and which I refuse to do professionally because really, I’m just a big chicken and I don’t think I’m smart enough. I talk and talk with the programmers at my work about their MySQL statements and algorithms, then I run back to my desk and hide in Photoshop.

I have two of the smartest boys EVER living right under my roof and I’m so so grateful. I know he will be a whiz at his new job and I hope they realize it.

I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I have lots of “comfort” movies. They are the discs I pop into the player more than any others, the ones I always watch particularly when I’m feeling down or stressed. They’re like the cheese of distraction. Best of all, my husband always tolerates them for my sake, no matter how many lines he can quote forward and backward.

With apologies to anybody I’ve blatantly ripped these off from – here are some images from my list of comfort movies. Can you guess which ones they are?

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Wednesday… completely knocked me to the ground. I was prepared for a long day – the third long day in a VERY LONG week. Kyle had a followup appointment with his neurologist, I had scheduled an appointment with my primary care doctor to get a referral to a dermatologist, and my friend Cam in Florida had an appointment with her oncologist for some testing, all of which I had been praying about. In addition to all of that, the slow first few weeks of January finally caught up to us at work, and this was the busiest week I can remember. Wednesday was no exception, but when I woke up feeling ill – headachey, nauseous, and dizzy like I haven’t been since the first day of my vertigo back in July – I knew it was going to be a tough one.

When I realized I wasn’t feeling any better over the course of the morning, I tried to cancel my dr’s appointment, but I couldn’t without paying a cancellation fee. The neurologist didn’t have the film from Kyle’s last MRI, so we didn’t get any real opinions or status updates – yet another copay mostly down the drain. I muddled through at the office until about 2:30p (I normally work until 3:15) and then I came home, curled up on my bed, and cried until I fell asleep for about an hour. My alarm woke me up at 3:45p for my 4:00p appointment, which involved a ten-minute drive to the doctor’s office, a ten-minute appointment, and a ten-minute drive back home. I felt pretty sick the rest of the day… my version of a migraine.

Thank goodness for my husband. He is an awesome person. He had left work early for his own appointment, so he was able to pick up Andrew while I headed over to my doctor’s office, and he took care of both of us for the rest of the day. I did the best I could with my usual tasks, but honestly, he did almost everything. And you know what? It wasn’t just that night: he always does a lot. He often makes all three of us dinner (and most of the time all three of us eat something different). He almost always gives Andrew his bath and reads his bedtime books. He makes me any kind of drink I want. He brings me snacks and watches Monty Python and the Holy Grail with me for the 438th time. He’s such a terrific husband and daddy, that he makes even the worst days seem bright.

Later that night, I was praying after my Bible reading. Out of habit, I start with “praises” when I pray, and at the end of this no-good-very-bad day, when the only things I was really thinking about were the disappointments, I found blessing after blessing pouring out of my heart. Nothing but how grateful I was for my life, my husband, my son, my job, medical insurance, the sunshine, and so many other things. I had tears on my face because I was just so humbled even amidst sufferings. I am taken care of.

Thursday was my birthday and a much better day. The entire week was ridiculously busy and overwhelming, but tucked into the corners were lots of smiles and laughter.

Seriously, though, I am SO GLAD it’s Friday.

• My coworker surprised me with Starbucks this morning: a fruit & yogurt parfait and my new favorite, a nonfat no-water chai latte.
• Starship’s “We Built This City” was playing on the radio on my way home.
• Gifts from my husband and son: a novel, books to read with Andrew, and extra iPhone cords.
• A delicious lunch from Quizno’s: Alpine Chicken sammie & chili taco salad.
• The dinner I’d been craving all day: a tunafish sandwich with tomatoes on sourdough toast & potato chips with ranch dip.
• Laughing with my husband at lunch about how the Tide stain pen smells like barf. SO glad I used it on my pants instead of my shirt, INCHES FROM MY FACE. (Also, it didn’t work on this stain. Tide is getting a Letter.)
• Lots of Facebook birthday wishes, some e-cards, some paper cards, and a few emails.
• My son saying “Happy birthday, Mama” to me.
• My life is full of blessings.

Most of you, and most humans on planet earth, know that I *love* snow. Winter is my favoritest season. My boss refuses to acknowledge this because I’m always cold; he often stops by my office and asks why I’m not wearing my coat (ha ha). But it’s true. I love all forms of wintry precipitation.

If ever I am feeling particularly trodden upon about this subject – for many think it’s a pretty questionable, if not downright ridiculous, way of thinking – I need only to look at my two-year-old son, and my childlike spirit is revived.

We had planned to jump in the car last night and go for some tacos, but first we had to quickly shovel the driveway. Once Andrew caught a taste of being outside in the snow, he was none too willing to be buckled into his carseat, so we decided instead that Kyle would make the taco run while Andrew and I stayed home. The two of us spent the entire time outside in the falling snow. Andrew had an absolute ball, but I don’t know which one of us enjoyed it more.

First, he insisted “snowball”. I’m not sure where he got the idea, because we’ve never talked about snowballs, but I made one and gave it to him and showed him how to hold it between both hands (mittens don’t allow for much finger dexterity). I think perhaps I’d given him the world to hold. He walked around for 20 minutes, clutching his snowball and beaming. Occasionally he would drop it, then say “fell apart!” or “mama fix it!” and eventually “mama ‘noth one, please”. Occasionally he would ask questions about it: “snowball. bounce?” And occasionally my heart would glow golden when he would giggle to himself over holding a chunk of snow.

Then, he caught sight of the flakes falling in the light of the street lamp, and he kept exclaiming “Wow!” and puzzling: “Christmas lights? Like Christmas lights?”

Then, he found the sprinkler nozzle that we use to water the flowers, and made “drawings” in the snow that was collecting on the driveway as fast as I could sweep it away. I heard him muttering to himself under his breath as he drew: “oval….. circle…..”

Then, he fussed when his daddy finally came home and we had to go inside for dinner, and I told him that I understood. I told him Mama wished they could stay outside in the snow for longer, too. Maybe for another, say, 16 years.

Last night in my prayers, I thanked God for allowing his beautiful creation of weather to bring such blessings and joy to my little son’s heart.

I totally understand why most people don’t like the snow. But I don’t believe that I will ever be one of them.

I hated my hospital stay after Andrew’s birth. HATED. With a capital H-A-T-E-D. It was definitely the most miserable 24 hours of my life.

A friend of mine is starting to pack her hospital bags for the birth of her second son, and she was wondering what kinds of things other mommies found useful to pack. And, although I do have a child who was born at a hospital and I did pack a bag, do you want to know why I can be of absolutely no help with this question?

Because I didn’t use one. single. thing. that I packed in my hospital bag.

Okay, I used ONE thing, but I didn’t technically pack it. We had been in the habit of bringing two pillows to our childbirth classes every week, so we brought the same two pillows when I was in labor. Best idea ever.

I also remember very clearly what I did NOT bring: pacifiers (we had to use the ones from the hospital, which Andrew didn’t like) and the boppy pillow (or anything nursing-related, although frankly, I nursed Andrew once in the first 24 hours of his life… and I’m not 100% sure it even happened once).

I think that if I ever pack another hospital bag for childbirth, I will probably pack it exactly the same way I did last time. With just guesses. Because I have no “I’ve been there” experience in this area, except to say that I didn’t even open my bag last time. NOT ONCE.

And really, I wouldn’t even care if I didn’t have a bag at all, provided that I could have: a) a nurse answering my call without me having to ring over and over for 20 minutes, or even better, b) the ability to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom without calling a nurse. That would be sweet.

Anybody else? Hospital bag stories?