So, since I posted last on Sunday night...

We had one of THOSE days!! You know those days I'm talking about, right? One of those days when EVERYONE in the house is mad at each other! (All I gotta say is: Teenage girls often frustrate me. And, oh, another thing: husbands also tend to frustrate me. And, yeah, I guess one more thing: Preteens can be pretty frustrating too. Yet, amazingly, four-year-olds don't see much of anything wrong in the world!) Everyone says the wrong thing; everyone takes it the wrong way; no one wants to talk to each other; and you go to bed all worked-up about things that really shouldn't have bothered you in the first place.

(So, there you go...I thought that might reassure you that we aren't Happy BlogLand Family all the time! We are an extremely strong and close-knit family, but even in the healthiest of families there are disagreements and arguments and misunderstandings. The good news, though? Relationships, yes, are sometimes a challenge. But, there is ALWAYS love!)

As always is the case... a sunny morning and a new day pretty much made everything better and yesterday there was more communication and effort and things felt "normal" again.

And, so, I was able to accomplish several things:

~ I completed my expense mileage calculations for taxes (nope, we haven't filed yet! lol).

~ I got enough socks and underwear washed that people actually had some to wear to work/school (always a good thing!).

~ I watched the national championship basketball game (and saw my brackets crumble, finally, to the dust with Memphis getting beat. But it was still a very enjoyable game to watch!)

~ I emailed an editor of a magazine I've wanted to write for and got some positive feedback.

And I was able to enjoy some simple pleasures:

~ I had a frappacino at the bookstore with McKenna.

~ I began to research (and, thus, anticipate) two summer trips coming up in mere months: one to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, and one to the Maryland coast.

~ I drove with the top down.

And I shared some precious Moments with Sydney:

~ She decided that baths are only good if they are taken with a bathing suit on.

~ She has become addicted to watching "Hey Arnold" at bedtime (remember that show on Nickelodeon from a few years back?) and said last night, "I think my head is shaped like a football" (the Arnold character truly does have a football-shaped head; Sydney does NOT.)

~ She watched "American Idol" last night and started crying...no, really, there were real tears involved... that "my favorites are Ramiele and Danny" (Ramiele was eleminated last week and Danny has been gone for WEEKS! Of course, she also still cries for Bucky..from LAST season...sometimes!) Gotta love it!

~ She found a dandelion yesterday while we were doing some errands and THAT simple thing made her smile like you can't imagine.

SO, I guess this really rambling post is to simply say that...

new days bring new smiles.

love is always there.

families are worth it. ALWAYS.