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Now, I try my hardest to keep this blog separate from my OCRO posts, because I don't want to be redundant and boring.
Today, though I have to just go ahead and post this. You see, when I started writing my portion of our combined What I Love Wednesday post, I could have written about 40 things (I might or might not be exaggerating). :) Since I was trying to keep it to 5 or 6 things, I started thinking it would probably be fun to do the full list (or almost full list) here.
So, here ya go... :) I'm so loving these things this Wednesday:
My new Facebook page for Life with the Ootens! Hit the like button on the right column (if you are reading this on our actual site) or just click on this link and go to Facebook to like us, if you haven't already! And, THANK YOU for all of you who have already "liked" us. It means so much to me to have you all reading and supporting our blog!
Mahi mahi. I never loved fish. I never really liked fish. But, these days, my tastes are a-changing... and I love mahi mahi... so much. I fixed it this week for the first time... and now all I want is fish tacos. I think I'm going to have to go and buy some more fish tomorrow to make fish tacos this weekend.
Pedicure night with Brad and the kids. I love a good pedicure (preferably from someone else). I routinely do them at home, since you know, they are a bit cheaper at home. :) And, the kids celebrate pedicure night. I mean, they truly celebrate it and love it. Brad does, too, although he might have a hard time admitting that when hanging with the boys at the basketball court.
New and old TV shows... lately, I'm loving Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Criminal Minds, and How I Met Your Mother reruns. Although, I have to say that Gene Simmons and his show is really making me a bit emotional. I thought I was going to have to turn it off at one point this week.
My baby brother. I'm a big sap when it comes to my brothers. I love them so much. Watching Colt grow up has always been a favorite pastime of mine... but seeing our relationship evolve from that of a maternal-son relationship to a buddy relationship has been pretty awesome. I love that he takes the time to really be interested in things I'm doing... he was so intent on making sure I could ride the bike that he has "loaned" me. :) So freaking cool to feel like he's taking care of me instead of me taking care of him. But don't worry... I still had to help him order his college textbooks and take care of his college financial aid package. Haha.
Listening to Bailey sing the song from Beauty and the Beast... Be our guest... :) It's absolute perfection.
Jake's adorable "I love yous." I'm not sure if Jake is insecure or if he just doesn't want me to feel left out when we go to the pool (or any place, really). If he makes a friend, he talks and plays for a minute... then he runs over to me and says, "Mom... mom, mom... I love you." He follows it with a kiss or hug and sometimes just hangs with me and sometimes goes back to his friend. I keep telling him that he doesn't have to hang out with me, but he always does this... Always. I would discourage it more, but I can't help but love it... and I know that it won't last long.
The kids' desire and hope that we will one day move to Ohio and live next door to Dawn, Brandon, Jackson, and Carson. They believe that would be great... but not perfect. It would only be perfect if we could also move all of our entire family and friends to go with us. But, Ohio, it must be. Dawn is probably psyched about that... I'm lobbying for something closer to the beach. :)
Back to school time. I hate it and love it, but I'm so pumped about getting to shop for some back to school clothes. SOOOOO exciting. :) And, my diva girl is totally excited about it too. Jake is in denial that school exists for him any time in the near future.
Good news from doctor's offices... no changes in my SSB levels in the past year, a normal white blood count, and no Rheumatoid factor. Shew. What a relief.
Running. Again. Regularly. Finally.
Two-hour long conversations with my mother-in-law. Yes. You did read that correctly. I am so lucky to have a mother-in-law who I can laugh with, cry with (although, fortunately that doesn’t happen much), and just ramble about everything with. She loves me, my hubby, and our kids so much… and I could NOT have found another mother-in-law in the world as awesome as her. :)
Impromptu time with friends… a spinning class at the Y, followed by grilled hot dogs, Miller Lite, and an action movie with Rebecca and Paul. A pizza and cinnastix (thanks, Dawn) while processing photography orders with my bestie, Cilla, and her hubby, as we impatiently await baby Steffen’s arrival. A few minutes laughing with Dawn and Brandon after we moved out the last of her things as she makes a move to Ohio. A few quick moments in time… all so important in making my life so full.
Lexington’s Farmer’s Market. Fresh green beans. Corn on the cob. Wandering around the market with my mom, Bailey, and Emily… all a perfect Saturday morning.
Riding a bike… a real bike… on a road, not in a class, for the first time in nearly 20 years. The wind in my hair… the pain in my butt… the sweat pouring down. And, seriously, I only rode one block, people. LOL.
My husband. We have our moments. We are a real married couple. We fight. We want to kill each other some days. Yet, on the good days, things are great. And, those days are the ones I love. Waking up together and not being in a rush to get out of bed… to get to cuddle up and talk about everything under the sun (especially how bad the other one’s breath is – whew!). Mornings like that at our house are few and far between, but on Sunday, we had that. And, within 10 minutes, both of our munchkins were in the middle of the bed, cuddling with us. Some days just start out perfectly. :) I want to hold onto those little moments more than anything else in the world.
Summer days at the pool… we have spent some quality time at the pool over the last very hot week. The water has been perfect. The kids are all over the pool. Jake is even becoming braver and putting his face in the water. With goggles on. Once each time we go to the pool. But no more than once. Baby steps, mom. :) Bailey, on the other hand, is hard to keep up with because she spends more time underwater than above. All very good, very happy things. :)
Happy Wednesday, I hope you find lots of things to love today!
O-H-I-O!!!!!