Today I'm thankful for...

1. Juicy oranges. I peeled and ate an orange on the way to church this morning. I put the peel in the trash bag between the front seats. I got back to the van four hours later and when I opened the doors it still smelled like a fresh, juicy orange inside! That's way better than the stinky old diaper smell that's usually in there.

2. Compassion. When we got home from church everyone went into melt-down mode. Sydney was crying because she was exhausted and because she's severely addicted to her ba-boo (aka pacifier), which she wanted but I refused to give to her because she would not stay in bed (the rule at our house is she only gets it when she's going to sleep). Meanwhile, Lillian was having an emotional breakdown because none of her pants fit her right. She tried on every single pair in her drawer and the poor girl was nearly hysterical because none of them felt good enough to wear. I suggested maybe the problem was her sensitivity and not the pants, but that didn't help much. Liam was ok for the most part, but I think he would have preferred to have nursed in peace and quiet instead of listening to his two older sisters wail about their woes. What changed the tide and prevented my own personal melt-down was compassion. I rocked Sydney and wiped away her tears. I sat down with Lillian and and sympathized with her about not having anything to wear. In the end I think we just all needed a little bit of undivided attention. I'm glad I was able to find the compassion I needed to help instead of getting overwhelmed with frustration and irritability.

3. My marriage. As I'm typing this I can hear our neighbors arguing through the wall. I'm glad Bobby and I don't do that. I'm not saying we never disagree, but we definitely don't yell at each other or call each other names. Yesterday I read an article in the NY Times that stated that for women under 30, more than half of all births occur outside of marriage. For so many women marriage has been reduced to a financial matter and children have become a byproduct of noncommittal relationships. I'm grateful for the value that Bobby and I place on marriage as an opportunity to grow together and to raise our children in a loving, nurturing environment. [Read the article here.]

4. Cupid. He delivered some sweet treats for Lillian and Sydney on Tuesday! Then he stayed for a bit and played "Fairytale Dress-up." He was a Mexican poncho-wearing king who had to bravely fight off baby-snatching dragons and evil witches. He played his part well, and Princess Sydney and Queen Lillian were glad to have such a fun and willing-to-play-along playmate.


5. Sydney's Helping Hand. When I go to the YMCA Sydney and Liam stay in the Kid Watch room with all the toys and the nice ladies who work there. This week they said Sydney was such a good helper with all the babies that every mom who came in thought she was the big sister of each baby she happened to be helping at that moment. She was such a good helper in fact, that they gave Sydney her very own name tag. I'm not talking about a chintzy sticker name tag that says "Hello My Name Is..." Oh, no. This one is an official YMCA-issued hard plastic employee name tag with a heavy duty magnetic attaching device. Sydney was so proud to wear it that she showed it everyone she saw. She can't wait to wear it this week when we go back.

6. Liam's grip. He's starting to reach for toys and grab them! He's also grabbing hair, shirts, fingers...anything within his reach!

Holding a favorite toy.

And grabbing Syd's shirt

before she got away.

7. Dr. Bobby. Lillian is learning all about the body and being healthy at preschool. The other day she came home and said, "Elvis shakes his pelvis!" Anyways, Bobby volunteered to do a "doctor presentation" for the class. The only time he has off during the week is when he's post-call, which is the day after he worked an all-day and all-night shift...usually 24 hours without any sleep. So after working one of those on Wednesday, Bobby went straight to Lilly's school on Thursday morning to teach her class about going to the doctor. Sydney, Liam and I stayed to watch as well. Although he was slightly sleep-deprived, Bobby did a great job engaging all the kids and teaching them about the different tools doctors use, like stethoscope, reflex hammer, and otoscope. The kids loved it all, especially Stan the Skeleton and passing around his bones. Lillian was so proud to have her daddy in school!