Monday Daybook

Outside my window... might as well be the dead of night, because it's pitch-black. I really hate the "falling behind" portion of daylight savings. I would so rather have daylight on the back end of the day rather than at 7:00 in the morning!

I am thinking... about several blog posts that I'm itching to write. I'm also thinking about finalizing all plans for November and ways to celebrate Christmas at home. That's right, we're staying HOME for Christmas this year! Marty and I decided it's very important for our children to wake up in their own home on Christmas morning, to run down the stairs in their footed jammies and rejoice at the sight of presents while Mommy and Daddy snuggle on the couch, sipping coffee and enjoying the lovely chaos of it all...sigh with me now -- "ahhhhhh."

I am thankful for... a young college student named Jessie. Who is my new day nanny, who starts tomorrow, Hallelujah! She is a doll, this girl, and she singlehandedly helped me go from worried like crazy about having a "stranger" in my house, caring for my son (even while I'm here) to stoked-excited at having some quality help. Jessie genuinely loves children and has excellent experience and credentials. Plus, we already dished on how much we love the Twilight books...I think this one's a kindred spirit. (My other favorite thing about having a nanny? I'm this much closer to actually living like Tori Spelling. HA!!!)

I am creating... a budget. Still. And at the advice of my dearest Kate, we bought Quicken, and may I pass the recommendation on down the line? It's a fantastic program; I especially love being able to hit the "Update" button and get current balances on all checking and savings accounts, plus credit cards. It's so cool, it seems magical.

I am going... to keep the kitchen clean daily. It's like a new obsession of mine. I refuse to go to bed with a single dish on the counter. Let's hope this obsession sticks!
I am reading... The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. It ties in with what I mentioned last week; there's a big ole blog post on this topic coming soon; I'm already drafting it.

I am hearing... "Jeopardy." Marty and I are self-admitted senior citizens when it comes to pre-primetime TV. We truly love a good episode of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy," even though Marty can't stand Alex Trebec's attitude (I think it's funny).

Around the house... are baskets of clean laundry. I need to clean out my dresser -- I'm sick of piling clothes I use on top of clothes I ignore. It's time to purge!

One of my favorite things... Mrs. Smith's frozen pies. We've been enjoying Dutch apple and it's going to disappear tonight. I wish I could make a homemade fresh pie, but at this point in my journey of (still) growing accustomed to motherhood, in addition to my other roles, who am I kidding? It's going to be frozen pies for the Conways for a few years to come.