a random thought post

I found a perverted animal cookie that I think we could've sold on EBAY!! Cody took a picture and then ate it. Money down the drain I tell ya. Or down the belly rather.
Here are some of my summer parade dancers. We did our first parade on July 17th in Mantua. It rained only during the parade. They were so cute though and we had fun so that's what matters. Go superheroes!

I have been bad at taking pictures lately because everytime I go to use my camera, the memory is full and I just haven't gotten around to transferring them onto the computer and erasing the card. Gonna do it tonight! Charlie is going to be a year old in 2 weeks. WHAT!!!!??? How did this year go by so fast? He is such a sweet fun little guy. So happy and mellow. He loves me best, which is great with me! He is starting to stand up by himself, still has no teeth, laughs at anything Lulu does, wrestles his daddy, cuddles and naps on me, and is just pretty much our happy pill. Lulu is still wonderful but also FOUR! This age is pretty demanding and impatient so far, which makes me short-tempered with her, which then makes me feel guilty. We are working on it. I think I have more expectations of what a four year old is capable of and I sometimes forget how little she is and how much she is still learning. She has been really imaginative lately. I love the random songs she makes up and how she names EVERYTHING- even the butterflies she tries to catch. She is pretty easy to please. A trip to the D.I. equals HOURS of fun for her. She will do anything to have a girls night with me and now that Cody took a whole day to get a swingset from some very sweet new friends of ours, I think our days will be even easier, as they will be spent in our backyard "schwinging," as she calls it. She could schwing all day long if we let her.

I am now an Avon lady, a server at Iggy's, and still directing/owning my own dance studio. Oh life. The blessing of having these 3 jobs is that not only the much-needed $ but also that I can still manage to be a stay-at-home mom! This is such a precious time in their lives: they are ALL MINE! There are just a few short years where I get to have them home and not be sending them off to school all day to be basically raised by someone else. I do Avon and dance stuff like books and choreography while they sleep at night and I serve at Iggy's 3 nights a week so Cody has them during that time. Besides teaching dance on Tuesday mornings, all the rest of my time is theirs and I am SO grateful for that. Cody is STILL looking for a job. It is a nightmare out there. Not even the grocery stocking jobs will take him because with his credentials and education, they all know he won't be a long-term hire. It has been so much fun to have him home though. I am really going to miss him when he does finally get a job. Its sad how much of your life is spent working and not enjoying. Besides the HUGE stress of money right now, we really are happy. Which believe me, that is saying a lot. Life is so full of ups and downs and surprisingly, this is part of an up time! Cody is a great cook, a goofball that always makes me laugh, a motivator who is always challenging me, a tease, a great daddy, and my best friend. I think one of the lessons in this trial we've been given of him not working is that we got to realize how much we really like each other and its reminded us how good we really can be together. I think I'll keep him. :) So ok, we've learned some great lessons so can we please move on from this trial now Heavenly Father?