Dear Thursday,

A few notes to the universe:

Dear Allergies,
We meet again, old nemesis. Only a few weeks ago and I was blissfully enjoying my contact/makeup wearing life with no thought to itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, or a runny nose. Now that you've come back to my life I haven't worn my contacts (regularly) in weeks and it just doesn't seem worth putting makeup on if I'm just going to rub it all off. I don't like taking medication during pregnancy, but I've given in and started taking some allergy medicine and I'm already feeling much better. So take that! Now, please go away and leave us alone (until next fall... I suppose.)
p.s. Please leave Austin alone. He's so little that I don't feel like I can give him anything. But he's waking up early in the morning because he can't sleep - and I think it's his nose/allergies.


Dear Rain,
I love you. Your cool weather and pit-pat on my window has me breaking out my fall clothes and prepping to put away all the kids summer clothes. At least it would if I wasn't so tempted to just sit and cuddle under a blanket with a good book (while my children play happily on the floor next to me, ha).

Dear Friday,
Today is Thursday. Which means you, Friday, will be here tomorrow. But when you come, you will bring with you the 2nd birthday of my sweet Austin-boy. I'm feeling all sorts of sentimental and mushy and I was wondering if you could hold off for maybe a couple more hours so I can have my baby-Austin for just a little longer before he turns into toddler-Austin?

Dear Pac-Fia,
I'm not sure what to do about you and your relationship with my little Austin-boy. Do I take you away for good when he turns two? Do I let him keep you because he likes you and it saves me time and energy? I'm not sure. Also - I love that you've advanced from being called "fwa". I've only recently realized Austin was trying to say "fier" as in "pacifier", and now that he calls you "pass (big pause) fia" I really love it.

Dear Santa,
I'm sorry, but I've officially decided that we will not be doing the Santa thing at our house. At least not the extent that I feel pressured to incorporate it. After spending about an hour with Lydia crying in her closet because she found out that Paw Patrol (her favorite cartoon) isn't "real" and she won't really be able to drive to their home and visit them - I realized that there's no way I would want to have to have this conversation with her after I, myself, had pushed the "realness" of a character like Santa Claus.

Dear Washing Machine,
When I walked into the Laundry Room to find water all over the floor I was understandably concerned for your well being. Seeing your door seal falling off around the edges made me even more worried. However, after some good youtube tutorial watching I realized I probably didn't need to buy a new door seal (about $100), I could just follow step by step and reinstall your old one. Now you're working great and I'm so happy we are back to our regular routine!

Dear YouTube,
Thank you for the above mentioned assistance in repairing my washing machine. I'm not sure what anyone did without you. (Probably paid a repair person a whole bunch of money to come and "fix" the washer.) You're the best.

Dear Thursday,

Dear Kitchen Floor,
I'm sorry that I can't keep you clean for more than 6 hours, and that's only if it's at night and everyone is sleeping. I thought that I'd finally be successful after my last deep cleaning attempt when I stopped letting people eat in the kitchen (Peanut butter sandwiches in the bathtub? Don't mind if we do.) But alas, I couldn't hold back the tide and you are again, albeit lovingly, smeared with banana goop and cheerio crumbs.

Dear Mint.com,
Thank you for faithfully tracking our budget every month. You continually save us money and make sure we stay on track for our financial goals. I'm sorry we've neglected you for the last month, but don't worry - we have a hot date planned to sit down with our receipts and make sure everything is allocated to the right place. See you soon. ;)

Dear iOS X upgrade,
Why oh why did I download you?!? I didn't realize that you would actually change the way my programs functioned. Now I can't utilize my iPhoto albums in the same way and I'm not sure how to handle it. Couldn't you have just made my computer faster without messing with my mojo? I'm now trying to adjust to the change and wish that I wasn't.

Dear October,
The weather yesterday was incredible. I love you!

Dear Wasps,
Take that! Elite Pest Control has got our backs. Now, please go away and never return. (I'm talking about each and every one of the four nests you've built up inside the eaves of our home.)

Dear Towne Cinema,
We love your cheap movie tickets and sticky floors. Don't let the naysayers get you down, we adore you. We loved your showing of "Inside Out", and will be back soon with our 3-year-old in tow because in her words "I'm bigger now and I can go to the movies, too."

Dear Stack of Unread Library Books,
I'm sorry that I have to return you without getting to know you better. As a book lover, I can't resist your bright covers and captivating back page summaries but I just can't seem to find the time to devote to you. Don't you worry though, I'll write you down on my ever-lengthening book list and I'll be back for you... someday.

Dear General Conference,
Thank you for lifting my spirits and helping me regain my focus. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the whirlwinds and badness in the world around me and hearing such powerful messages of God and His love give me something to hold on to. Thank you for strengthening my grip.

Dear Cornbelly's,
You are far too expensive for me to even consider going to this year. I'm sorry about that. But, thank you for all the Friday night fireworks! We love watching them from our front porch.

Dear Thursday,
You are one of my favorite days of the week. Thanks for speeding us toward the weekend and for giving me one more day to enjoy this wonderful life of ours.

Dear Thursday,

Dear Daniel Tiger,
I love you and your neighborhood friends. Thank you for letting us join you on your adventures and for sharing your wonderful emotion-handling songs. You help my three-year old know how to deal with the big emotions she is feeling and your parents are great examples to me of how to be a better parent. Oh, and your sweet song "Baby Margaret" makes me cry every. single. time. Specifically the lines: "The Tiger family is bigger And the Neighborhood is bigger too" and "The moment I first held you, you seemed to meThe most wonderful gift to our family" - but really the whole song is so sweet.

Dear Illustrator,
You've long been mostly-ignored save for the occasional vector-based element alteration. But I've seen the error of my ways and I'm realizing just how wonderful you really are. Artboards! Paths! Blob brush! Creation and editing are easier than ever before and I'm giddy about it.

Dear Photoshop,
I know you think you are being replaced by Illustrator, but really - I still love you. You know I come running to you every time I need to do something that {I can't figure out in AI} only you can do! You'll always hold a special place in my heart.

Dear wasps in my backyard,
STOP building your nest in the eaves of my house! Please! We've tried everything (except hanging the wasp catcher that we bought because I'm scared to climb up and hang it anywhere near where you are) and you keep coming back. Just go AWAY!

Dear HGTV and Food Network,
Thank you for providing us with hours and hours of great entertainment.  You two make me think that I am an expert home-renovator and a professional chef. (Plus, HGTV, your endless Wayfair promotion seems to have worked considering that I just bought a mirror and a hanging storage bin/shelf from your website even though I thought I never would because of the cost.)

Dear "That",
Austin loves you whether you are the food he wants to eat or the toy he wants to play with. I love that you are his favorite word right now.

Dear Old-LG phone,
Your camera broke and that was lame - but I'm still sorry that we lost you while hiking in a canyon.

Dear New-Kyrocera phone,
You have a camera and I'm thrilled about that! Plus you only cost $30, which was awesome. You have a small learning curve, but thanks for being patient with me while I figure you out.

Dear Instagram,
I'm BAAACK!

Dear Motherhood,
I realized the other night that I am completely content in this small moment of my life. The heart-bursting moments of happiness, the never ending dirty dishes, the baby giggles, the 4 am nursing sessions, the trips to the swimming pool, and the toys strewn all over the family room floor. Being a mother isn't always easy and I am certainly not perfect, but it's the most perfect job I could ever have hoped for. In this moment, I feel complete and utterly satisfied with my role as a mom.

Dear Thursday,

Dear bubbie wra-writs,
Thank you for bringing so much joy to my sweet little girl. She loves you and your floppy ears and long whiskers. Thank you for bringing so much joy to me, because listening to Lydia say "Bunny Rabbits" makes my heart melt and brings a smile to my face. You are my favorite animal right now.

Dear Thanksgiving Point,
I don't know why it took us so long to get a membership, but I'm so glad that we did! It's only been a few days, but we've already visited several times and Lydia can't stop talking about all the "anmals (animals) at the farm". Already I feel like the individual membership is a steal and feel a little guilty for how much use I know we are going to get out of it!

Dear McArthur Homes,
I can't believe it's been a year since we moved into our house! You've been nothing but wonderful to us, and I'm especially appreciative that you've been so diligent about completing the list of "warranty items" that I sent to you the day before we hit our year mark. I probably could have re-caulked the upstairs sinks myself, but it makes me so happy that your technician came over and did it for us. (And guaranteed it took him a fraction of the time that it would have taken me.) You've taken great care of us and we love you for it!

Dear "Inspirational Facebook Friend",
I'm friends with you on Facebook because I think it's neat that you live in South America and have an uplifting and inspirational company filled with humanitarian work and motivational tools. I also appreciate the occasional "Do something extraordinary today" posts.  However your recent posts about "fitness" have both offended and upset me. Not everyone needs to run marathons to the top of unknown mountains in order to be extraordinary. Weight doesn't determine value. I, and those around me, are doing the extraordinary every day. We are raising, and being a part of, healthy and happy families. We are shaping the future. That is incredible - and a number on the scale doesn't change that one bit. Please continue to use your influence for good, instead of this recent "body-shaming" stuff.

Dear Eide Bailly,
Thank you for all of the opportunities that you give our family. We appreciate having a job, having decent health insurance, and all of the other benefits that you provide. However, I would like to take this opportunity to mention that "busy-season" with Eide Bailly is more busy than it was when you were HBM. Counting down the days until the craziness starts to ebb. (39 in case you were wondering.)

Dear Sam's Club,
Now that we have become a 2-gallon of milk kind of family, the fact that you have $2.00 milk endears me to you eternally. Also, the giant (and I mean giant) jar of pickle spears that you had for $5.00 is now sitting cozily in our fridge. Didn't you know that they sell regular jars of pickles for $3.50? Lydia and I have already enjoyed several pickles and look forward to chomping through the rest of them. You are officially our favorite store to visit. (This may also be due to the free grilled cheese sandwiches and applesauce samples.)

Dear Winter,
I know that it's still your season and that more snow is right around the corner, but thank you for letting us have this little glimpse of Spring! It's warmed my heart and lifted my spirit and I now feel that we will be able to make it until May.

Dear 2014 Sochi Olympic Athletes,
We admire your talent and work ethic, and have enjoyed cheering you along each night after David gets home from work. We've loved watching everything from Ice Dancing to Super-G skiing. Even your commercials have us (and by us, I mean me) in tears. (I'm looking at you P&G.) Congratulations on a job well done, all of you!

Dear Thursday,

Just one for today...

Dear Lydia,
When did you get so big? Looking at these pictures reminds me to hold onto each moment - because they fly by way too fast! I seriously love you darling girl.
Love, Your mama.

(As I was looking for cloth diapering pictures yesterday (By the way 32 people have read that post - and only 4 people have commented on it. Apparently, people don't like to talk about diapers. I just wish I knew who was reading. Shout out to my commenters!) I came across these pictures and I can't help but post them today. I love them so much! She is still so little, but you can definitely see her personality. And the second picture just makes me laugh. And laugh and laugh and laugh.)

Isn't she a sweetheart? I just love this girl. 

Dear Thursday,

Dear Thursday,
I love you because you are almost Friday. And I like the way that "Thursday" sounds.

Dear clouds in the sky,
After all of the heat we've been getting lately, you are my new best friend. Oh, and thank you for bringing your raindrops (even if they are few) with you when you came - our lawn needs it desperately.

Dear Lehi water shortage,
Because of you I feel guilty about taking my kitchen garbage can outside to rinse it out. I'm going to have to resort to leaving the garbage can outside and hope that the rain washes the yuckiness away.

Dear train in my backyard,
People ask me all the time if you bother us much. The answer is always "To get the view that I have outside, I'd take a train in my backyard any day." Thank you for being the trade-off so that we could afford to live in this neighborhood with such an amazing view.

Dear empty flowerbeds,
I'm so sorry that you are the only empty flowerbeds on the whole street. We just aren't good at the whole plant/flower thing. But don't worry - we are working on it. Soon you should have some nice boxwood shrubs and maybe even a nice little bench to keep you company.

Dear not-so-empty sink of dishes,
Why does it seem like every time I turn around you get more and more stacks of dirty dishes? I swear, you were clean last night. Why does it look like I haven't done dishes for a week?

Dear giant whiteboard calendar,
I am so excited that you arrived in the mail yesterday. Soon you will be hanging in my kitchen and I can. not. wait.

Dear iPhoto,
Thank you for helping me to organize my pictures so nicely. I love you even more after I learned that I can use you to do simple photo edits (like cropping and red-eye) without having to open the photo in photoshop. Also, forgive me for the 600 photos I upload every week. I like taking pictures.

Dear books that I love to read,
Why do you always have to end? I always feel a little sad when I turn the last page and realize that the story is ending. Let's do something about this, eh?

Dear Lehi Library,
Your book-hold program is awesome. I love that I can put the book I want on hold, then once I get the e-mail notification, come in and pick it up, check myself out, and be on my way within minutes. Whoever came up with the current hold-arrangement/self-checkout idea is brilliant. You should give them a raise.

Dear Mark Gungor,
Although I typically despise the stereotypes portrayed about men and women, your discussion about men's brains vs. women's brains hits the nail on the head when it comes to David and I. In fact, in the first year of our marriage - many conversations were aided by referring to the "nothing box". (Conversations aided meaning: If I asked David what he was thinking and then I didn't believe him when he said nothing, because, really! Who isn't thinking about anything? And then if I kept pressing him about what he was really thinking about until he got frustrated because, really! He was just thinking about nothing. It was all very confusing. After your lecture, David could just say "nothing" and I'd nod to myself and say "He was thinking about his nothing box." And let it go because it was okay for him to be in his nothing box.) We randomly ended up watching the clip again and both started laughing. Yep. It's still true. Thanks for the laughs and the advice! 

Dear Thursday,

Dear Del Taco,
I can't tell you how happy I am that we live so close to each other. I see many, many, (many,) little dates together eating your 50 cent tacos. For someone who hasn't ever really eaten at a fast food taco place regularly, I'm prepared to become your most loyal customer.

Dear Sunshine,
Your bright and happy rays bring joy to my heart (and a little bit of redness to my baby's hairless head). When I woke up this morning to a blizzard I started missing you so much - but now that you are awake and peeking through the sky I just know today is going to be a good day.

Dear Netflix,
I'm sorry that we have been neglecting you lately. We've been a bit busy. It also doesn't help that we have pretty much run out of good shows to watch on you. If you could come up with some great suggestions - I'm sure we would start spending more time with you. (After basketball season of course - so actually it may be a while.)

Dear Park by my house,
I wish that you had a swing set. And some trees. And a bigger slide. I love that you are within walking distance, but I envision having to drive into the heart of Lehi each time I want to take Lydia to a real park. I hope that we can still be friends.

Dear Oranges,
My baby loves you. She really does. However, could you please try not to stain every single item of clothing that she has on (bib or no bib). I didn't realize that you could stain so badly. You've proved your point.

Dear Laundry Room,
I absolutely adore you. I adore everything about you. Your window, your pocket door, your counter, your sink, and your location in my home. I am so enjoying the ability to fold my laundry in my sewing room that is connected to you, but still separate from the rest of the house. I love being able to shut the door so Lydia can crawl around and won't be tempted to fall down the stairs. I love that if I don't quite finish folding a load I can shut the door and come back without having to worry that people will come over and see laundry all over my family room. I just love, love, love you!

Dear HBM Book Club leaders,
Thank you for choosing to read the same book that my book club chose to read this month! I picked up David's book, "Unbroken", and then was informed the following day that it was the book my book club was reading as well. Thank you for being so accommodating.

Dear Pinterest,
Thank you for providing me with so many fun meal ideas. Without you our dinners would be completely boring. However, could you please stop showing me quite so many cute party ideas? I have a budget for the bridal shower I'm throwing this weekend and you aren't making it easy. (Yes, a budget Pinterest, I don't know if you've heard of it.)

Dear NCAA,
I love my husband. He loves you. You love madness in March. I can't wait.

Dear Lydia,
I had so many more notes to write but you woke up from your nap early and taking care of you took precedence. However, I wouldn't trade our books read, songs danced to, or giggles shared for all the blog posts in the world. I love you.