Things making me happy lately

There are lots of things that are making me happy lately.

First of all, Zack is talking A LOT better these days. He is attending two preschools, so he is spending time socializing and talking with kids his age and working on following directions four mornings a week. When we took him to be screened by the county to see if he qualified for assistance to help him with his speech and behavior after his surgery, they recommended he spend as many days as possible in a preschool environment to help catch him up to his peers. It is amazing how much he missed out on developmentally because of his poor hearing and his tonsil-impaired speech! It is amazing how much I can accomplished when he is off to school.

Second, our beloved Phil & Ted stroller was looking like it had been used daily by sticky toddlers and starting to tear and fray in a few places. The stroller served us very well. It survived three trips to Disney World, a few trips to Utah, some Busch-Gardens visits, and countless adventures in errand running with small children. I found an awesome deal on a brand new Phil & Ted stroller where I was able to buy the stroller AND the double kit for a total of $399. That still sounds like a lot of money, true, but our first Phil & Teds cost us $500. The best part of my score, was that once I saw the deal I posted our old stroller on Craigslist and within 24 hours someone came and picked it up for $320. So, I kind of feel like I just paid $75 for a $500 stroller. We used to have a red one, but now we're going to be sporting lime green so we can have even more attention showered upon us. It should be arriving tomorrow and I am so excited!!



Third, Ben had President's Day off so we all enjoyed the fun of a three day weekend. We had lunch at Sonic, which we love. Unfortunately the closest one to us is an hour away. However, we also went to IKEA today (Monday) and Sonic is only fifteen minutes from IKEA. We found some new storage solutions for the basement, which doesn't sound very glamorous, but trust me I am excited.

Fourth, after months of my cell phone living on death's doorstep, I finally qualified for my phone upgrade discount. I have usually had extremely low-tech and undeluxe phones. This time I let Ben choose a phone for me. Now I have a red Palm Centro and it has an overwhelming amount of new features for me to learn and play with. I also got a jawbone bluetooth device so I no longer have to suffer from my car charger dropping out of my phone as I am talking on it while out and about.



Fifth, Mylie is amusing us with the sign language skills shes acquired from a week's worth of watching a 'Baby Signing Time' dvd when I put her down for her nap. She is so proud of herself and we are quite intrigued by her quick learning skills. She can now sign very important words like, shoes, socks, bear, doll, sleep, baby, signing, time, car, boat, and train. She may know others as well, but these are the only words Ben and I have learned to sign so they are the only ones we recognize her doing. The 'Baby Signing Time' series is very fun, if you haven't seen them yet then check them out. Your kids will love them and learn!!

Sixth, Ben and I are registered to run a half-marathon next January in Disney World. I am not a runner, but I will do anything to go to Disney World, even torture it by dragging it along a 13.1 mile course at the unAllie-like speed of close to slowly moderately fast. We are hoping some of you will think it is fun to try a half-marathon and come run it with us. Registration is already over 75% full so sign up right away!!!



Seventh, my kids are all asleep and the house is quiet.