I'm Jana Perciful, and I approved this message

Last night, I needed some groceries, so I packed the kids up and headed to Kroger. I loaded the kids into a race cart and headed into the store.

I was surprised to find out that they were having a Halloween celebration. As we neared the middle of the store, smiling employees wearing costumes offered my kids free bags of candy. Unfortunately, the candy was all chocolate. I told them thanks, but that my kids have peanut allergies and can't eat chocolate. Then I continued on, only to be chased down a minute later. They had looked around and found alternate gifts for my peanut-free children. They gave Tristan a really cool pumpkin necklace, which he loved. Logan got a small orange thing of bubble blowing solution with a wand. He was delighted when I blew bubbles for him throughout the store.

On the other end of the store, a really sweet woman was doing face painting and giving away balloons. Tristan got a pumpkin on one cheek, and a red balloon. They took his picture, and then a picture of him standing next to Logan, and told me I could pick up the pics in a few days. This woman also had candy to give away, but this time it was all peanut-free, so Tristan got a bag.

At checkout, I was telling the checker lady what a nice time we'd had. I wasn't paying any attention to the guy bagging up the groceries. He'd loaded all my groceries into another cart. Now I had a problem... babies in the race cart, groceries in another cart. Nope, no problem. My checker happily moved everything into the race cart for me.

On the way out of the store, I asked for the manager. They called him over, and I thanked him for our great experience in his store. Every employee we'd encountered was helpful & smiling. They went out of their way to make sure we were happy. What great customer service!

These days, you run into so many people who are just doing as little as possible. I've dealt with lots of employees who are rude, in bad moods, and not at all helpful. Some even act as if you're putting them out just asking them to do their job! The guys and gals at Kroger last night were so wonderful, I just had to share.

And no, this is not a paid endorsement. But if someone from Kroger happens to be reading this, and wants to mail me some coupons, or give me a discount on future shopping trips, that would be just fine with me! :-)

Wordless Wednesday

My Little Angel

Here is a conversation that occurred at my house this morning...

Me: Tristan, can you come over here for a minute so Mommy can talk to you?

Tristan: OK

Me: I just wanted to let you know that Mommy is having a hard day... (Mommy starts crying now) I just really miss Daddy since he left, and I'm so sorry that I yelled at you earlier.

Tristan: (climbing into the chair & hugging Mommy) Well, that's ok. I'm here. I'll make you happy while Daddy's gone.

Me: You will? (Mommy starts crying harder) Thank you, honey. You're so sweet.

Tristan: I will make you happy by having chocolate for breakfast. See? (Tristan goes and gets the bag of Hershey's Bliss chocolate.) I will climb up in the chair with you, and we will have chocolate for breakfast, to make you happy.

Me: Tristan, do you know how much I love you?

Tristan: I love you, too. (hugging Mommy again & then feeding her a piece of chocolate)

Photo Shoot

As promised, here are some more pics from our photo shoot yesterday. I had trouble picking my favorites... there were so many good ones! Matt's mom spent a few days with us this week, so we asked her to sit in on some of the pictures. I think they turned out great. We love you, Mom!

Thanks again, Becke'!

Thank You, Becke'

This morning, our family had a wonderful opportunity! Becke' Stuart offered to take some photos of us before Matt heads back to Iraq. We met at a beautiful chapel in town, and Becke' started shooting. I'm so delighted with the results! I have a CD of all the pics, and will post lots of my favorites on the blog sometime tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, check out Becke's blog, http://moopandsaba.blogspot.com, to check out some of the pics she posted today. If Becke' ever wants to start a career (besides super mom), I think she'd make a great professional family photographer!

Thank you so much, Becke'!!!

Date Night

Love shortens time, charms the hours. Love is invincible. Many waters cannot quench it, nor the floods drown. The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.

7 Things

OK, I've been officially tagged by Casie. So here are 7 weird/interesting things about me...

1. Whenever possible, I like to have something to read while I'm eating. I've had this quirk since I was a child. I remember reading the same cereal box so many times that I almost had it memorized!

2. I'm a stickler for correct grammar. My mom was an elementary school teacher, and dad was a newspaper reporter, so they both really stressed the importance of speaking well. As my sister says, I am the grammar snob about whom your mother warned.

3. I'm allergic to metal. For years I haven't been able to wear any jewelry except silver & gold. I'm finding now that I can wear most jewelry made by Premier Designs (thanks Anna!), but not all. Right now, I have an ugly rash with blisters on my left wrist from my watch. Ugh!

4. I once tried to open a tube of superglue with my teeth, and the tube exploded. The only reason I didn't end up in the ER was because I quickly gargled some nail polish remover.

5. I dropped out of high school in my senior year, later received my GED, then attended the UCA Honors College on a full scholarship, before dropping out of college also. Lesson learned: being "book smart" doesn't get you anywhere in life if you're lacking common sense & a willingness to work hard .

6. I love eating frosted strawberry pop tarts with butter on top.

7. During our very first date, I told Matt that I knew we would end up married. Everyone (including Matt, probably) thought I was crazy. Ten years later, we're still going strong! :-)


***I tag any of my blogging friends who haven't completed this yet.***

Bubbles

Yesterday afternoon, Matt was kind enough to let me take a bubble bath... by myself! He was watching the kids in the living room when Logan made a break for it. Within seconds, he was happily splashing in my bath and eating the bubbles. I don't know when I've laughed so hard!!

Together Again

Last night at 8:14 pm I was reunited with Matt. (Not that I was anxiously watching the time or anything!) His flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:00, but was a little bit late. Mom kept the boys while I went to the airport. I was so excited to see him walking down those steps. I think I may have injured his neck when I hugged him!

On the way home from the airport, we stopped and picked up a bottle of champagne. Once home (the kids were both asleep already), we laid out a blanket and had a candlelit picnic on the floor of the living room... cheese, summer sausage, crackers, strawberries, grapes, etc. It was wonderful to be able to reconnect and just enjoy being together again. I knew our time alone wouldn't last long!

Sure enough, Tristan woke up at 3:30 am, and climbed into bed beside me. "Is Dad home?" he asked me. Then, he looked past me & spotted Matt. At that point, he was wide awake! I told him that Daddy was very sleepy, and we would need to let him sleep at least a little bit longer. But not Tristan. There was no way he could go back to sleep, so I set him up in the living room with his own little picnic... raisins, graham crackers & juice. I turned on the Cars movie for him, and went back to bed.

Finally, at 6:30, I told Tristan we could wake Daddy up. I shook Daddy gently, and told him that his big boy had been waiting to see him for 3 hours. Matt sat up, and Tristan told him excitedly, "Dad, you're home! Guess what? I'm big and strong like you, and I'm brave like you, and I have short hair like you, and I'm funny like you, and......... You're home!!!"

So far, Logan isn't clinging to Daddy, like Tristan is. He's just smiling at him a lot. He definitely knows that it's Daddy, and he knows that he likes Daddy, but he seems kinda confused. Like, why is Daddy here and not on the computer screen. I predict that by tonight, Daddy will have two boys all over him. I'm really glad that we got some alone time first!

So, he's here for 2 weeks. What are our plans? Well, Mama B (Matt's mom) is driving up on Thursday, and one of his best friends, Pierce, is flying in for the weekend. Then there are all of our local friends & family. So we'll be spending lots of time hanging out with the people we love the most, and just enjoying having our family back together again, if only for a couple of weeks.

For everyone who helped me get ready for his visit, for everyone who prayed for his safe arrival, and for everyone who put up with me talking nonstop about my husband for the past 2 weeks, thank you! We love & appreciate you all!

All Done

Brothers

Being a mother to two boys can be exhausting. But it is also FUN! Tristan wasn't very interested in Logan when we first brought him home. (To be fair, Logan wasn't very interesting... eat, sleep, eat, sleep, etc.) Now that Logan is older, Tristan is quick to tell you that Logan is his best friend. It is so much fun to see how they interact these days. Interestingly enough, Logan is usually the leader in activities. He doesn't normally join Tristan in play. He does his own thing, and Tristan follows his lead. If Logan wants to play on the couch, so does Tristan. If Logan wants to rock in the chair (see previous post!), Tristan wants to help him. If Logan gets on his "bike", Tristan goes to find his too. They obviously love each other very much, and this mommy thinks it's a joy to watch them together!

Rock-A-Bye Baby

Rock-a-bye baby
In daddy's chair
I could get hurt
But I just don't care

First stand up tall
Then bend at the knees
Throw myself backwards
Mom, look at me!

I found a new game
What a fun way to play
I don't want my toys
I'll just rock all day

I know that I scare you
'Cause I'm only one
But you know what, mom?
That's part of the fun!

Tristan's FUN Playdate

Today, Tristan went on a playdate. This morning, my friend Kirsten came to pick him up about 11:30. Her son Spencer is about Tristan's age, and the boys are friends from church. First they went to Sonshine Academy for some gymnastics, then they picked up some McDonald's and had a picnic at the park. After that, it was back to Spencer's house for an afternoon spent playing cars.

Tristan got home about an hour ago, and he is still talking about all the fun he had today. I think we'll definitely have to do this again!

Here are a couple of pictures of Tristan with the ambulance that Spencer let him borrow.

35 is gonna be great!!!

Here are some pictures from yesterday. I celebrated my 35th birthday with the girls. We went to my favorite restaurant, Fuji Japanese Steakhouse. The food was yummy, the show was pretty good (I think our chef was new), and I even got cards & presents! But the very best gift of all was being able to spend my birthday with such good friends. Thank you! I love you all!