I'm so grEIGHTful!

Today I'm thankful for...

1. My kitchen helper.  Liam helped me make pizza for dinner while the girls were at a friend's house for a play date.  He spread the sauce and [very liberally] sprinkled on the cheese.  We chatted about two year old boy stuff, like how he's a big BOY and Sydney is a big GIRL and Lillian is a big SISTER.  It was so pleasant to have one-on-one time with him.  He is such a good little buddy!

2. Ladybugs and Watermelon.  Sydney and I are SO ready for summer.  While Liam took his afternoon nap we had a little mani-pedi party.  Sydney wanted ladybugs on her fingernails and watermelons on her toenails...no easy feat on her teeny tiny nails (that she has a bad habit of biting down to stubs).  I did the best I could, which I guess was good enough because Sydney was totally thrilled with them when I finished.  She was so excited that she made me send a picture to ALL of her grandmas.  It was so fun to have girly time with her.  I can't wait until all the snow melts outside and it's warm enough for us to sit on the front step and do our nails like we did last summer.

3. Notes for Daddy.  When Bobby leaves early in the morning he usually leaves a note for the kids on their chalkboard.  Sydney decided to write a note for him last night.  She's getting really good at writing her letters- I'm so proud of her!  We took a picture of it and texted it to Bobby.  Lillian wanted to do the same thing so she wrote him a note on a little piece of paper.  They made Bobby so happy!

 

4. The 22 bucks I found in the back pocket of my jeans this morning.  Woohoo!

5. Lillian's stuffed animals, all lined up so nicely at the foot of her bed.  She was very proud of her work.  She said her goal is to keep her room clean and organized.  So far, so good.

6. Liam's new bow-tie.  We won it at a fundraiser at church a few weeks ago.  Another lady we go to church with made it.  It's so stinkin' cute.  Liam loves to wear it and run around.  He says he's so handsome.  Yes, he is!

7. Snow cream!  For family home evening last night we made snow cream....ice cream except with snow!  It was SOOO good!  All you do is mix half and half or milk with sugar and vanilla, then add in some snow!  We loaded it with tons of toppings like strawberries, mini chocolate chips, Andes mint chips, Heath chips and rainbow sprinkles.  It melted pretty quick, but it was still good to drink right out of the bowl.  It made the extra four inches of snow worth it. :)  If you want to make it, here's a link to the recipe we used http://family.go.com/food/recipe-852461-snow-cream-t/

   

8. PIRATES!!  Aaarrrgghhh!!  Having fun in Michael's!

Tea Parties, Bum Burps, and Hiding Lions

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Good food.  Today was Fast Sunday.  On the first Sunday of every month we fast together as a church.  That usually means skipping two consecutive meals, whether it's dinner the night before and breakfast in the morning, or breakfast and lunch on the same day.  The money that we would have spent on food, we donate into what's called "fast offerings."  This money is used to help those in need to buy food and other necessities.  Fasting is also a special opportunity to pray for something personal, whether it's for an answer to a question, for guidance, strength, or for someone else.  Today I was fasting for a friend and also for inspiration on how to contribute financially to our family without taking too much time away from the kids (I'm down to babysitting one kid instead of two and would like to replace the drop in income).  Our church doesn't start until noon.  We finish at 3pm, but we usually don't get home until 4pm because we stay to talk to friends and on the way home we always stop to visit an elderly couple.  I'm usually pretty hungry by the time we get home and dinner is ready.  Tonight Bobby made one of his childhood favorites- eggs goldenrod.  It's a yummy cheesy and boiled egg mixture eaten over toast.  Lillian has been asking to have it for a few days and we had lots of eggs in the fridge.  After fasting for most of the day, the first bite of whatever I'm eating is so savory.  It doesn't even matter what the food is. I remember one Fast Sunday not long after Bobby and I got married- I broke my fast with a Ritz cracker topped with vanilla yogurt and a slice of fresh peach.  At the time it felt like the most delicious thing my taste buds had ever experienced.  I'm grateful for the food that has always been available in my home and for the reminder that fasting gives me of how fortunate I am to not have to experience hunger on a non-voluntary basis.

2. Bum burps.  When Liam toots (farts, passes gas, lets one rip...) he says his bum just burped.  So funny!

3. Sleeping in.  Bobby let me get "five more minutes" of sleep this morning while he fed the kids breakfast and got them dressed for church.  Those extra five minutes were more like an hour...and what a wonderful hour of sleeping it was. :)

4. How to Hide a Lion written and illustrated by Helen Stephens.  We got this book from the library earlier this week and it's Liam's new favorite book.  We've read it a jillion times already.  It's a cute story about a lion and a little girl named Iris who tries to hide him from her parents and the special friendship they form.  The illustrations are fun colored sketches and the text is short but entertaining.  Perfect for a two year old who loves lions.  I don't mind reading it to him over and over again.

5. Lilly and Sydney's tea parties.  They got dressed up in fancy dresses this afternoon and set up a full tea service on their bedroom floor.  It's so fun to see them play, imagine, and interact with one another.  It just warms my heart to see their friendship grow and blossom.  I'm glad they have each other.  I know they have a lot to give to one another, as well as a lot to learn from each other.  Sisters are just great that way...I'm glad I have a sister of my own to experience it with too.

Zoos, Scooters, School, and Puking

I'm thankful for...

1. Beautiful weather on Saturday and going to the Baltimore Zoo with my kids and husband.  FYI- the zoo in Baltimore has half-off admission during January and February.  If you have a membership to the Philadelphia Zoo (or most any other zoo), you receive half off admission any time.  It was only $35 for our family of five.  We spent three hours there and saw elephants, lions, giraffes, polar bears, chimpanzees (lots of 'em), native Maryland wildlife, otters (from a cool underwater tunnel), bats, a hellbender salamander, arctic foxes, cheetah, leopard, and the official mascots of the Ravens football team- two HUGE ravens named Rise and Conquer.  Apparently, the Baltimore Zoo is the only zoo to house and care for an NFL mascot.  The birds attend every Ravens home game.  How's that for your zoo/NFL trivia?

2. Scooters.  Sydney and Liam wanted to ride scooters today.  30 degrees and windy made it way too cold to do it outside, so I rolled back the carpets in the living room so they could roll across the floor.  Liam doesn't have much scooter experience but he did a pretty good job.  In the afternoon, Sydney bundled up and rode her scooter all the way to Lilly's bus stop.  Her little scooter wheels flashed and blinked the whole way as she scooched and scootered her way up the hill.  We can't wait for spring.

3. Post call.  Bobby was on call yesterday/last night.  He got a total of 5 hours of interrupted sleep...more than most call nights....and he finished rounding earlier than expected in the morning.  Feeling well rested (and homesick) he decided to come home for the rest of the day.  His visit will be less than 24 hours, but it's always nice to have him around.  He surprised the kids and we had a nice afternoon and evening together.  He leaves again very early tomorrow morning.  We'll see him Friday night when he is able to come home for the weekend.

4. Lillian's self-motivation.  I've begun to recognize how little I need to prompt, urge, prod, or nag Lillian to do her homework.  She usually comes home talking about it and she'll jump right into it at the slightest suggestion or reminder.  She gets a weekly packet of a few pages of reading/writing homework and occasionally a page of math homework.  With the packet homework, she'll sit down and do all the pages at once instead of one a night like the teacher suggests.  Her reading and writing abilities have really taken off and she impresses me more every time I hear her read or read what she's written.  I'm so proud of her and how well she is learning, but most importantly, how she seems to enjoy learning.

5. Short puking episodes.  I'm never thankful for puking kids.  But when they have to puke, it's always best when it happens fast and they recover quickly.  Thankfully, that's how we experienced it over the weekend.  Liam woke up on Thursday night and threw up three times.  But in the morning he was totally fine and throughout the day you never would've known he was sick the night before.  On Saturday evening while we were driving down to Baltimore to visit Bobby, Sydney started complaining that her tummy hurt.  I tossed her a plastic bag and told her to puke in it if she had to.  Five minutes later she threw up, and thankfully it all landed in the plastic bag.  After a quick pull-over and damage assessment everything seemed fine and Sydney was feeling much better.  So we continued on our way and had a great weekend!  I don't know if it was some weird strand of a quick GI bug or if it was something they ate, but either way I'm glad it's over and they are feeling better.

Snow, Snow, Go Away

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Temps above freezing and the sound of snow melting.  For a few hours this afternoon the sun was warm enough to melt the snow off the roofs, sidewalks, streets, and everywhere else.  It was music to my ears to hear the drip, drip, drip of melting snow!  I saw the wood floor of my balcony out back for the first time in over a week.  On our way to the bus stop to get Lillian after school I noticed that the snow pile on the edge of the sidewalk is taller than Liam!  Temps are supposed to hit 60 later this week.  Hopefully that will do a doozy on the snow.  It's pretty and all when it's freshly fallen and there's a magical white blanket coating everything with a sparkly shimmer.....but in my opinion there is nothing magical about this much snow.  Nothing.

2.  Play dates.  Sydney spent ALL DAY at a friend's house across the street.  For nearly six hours, her friend's mom said they played so well together and had a great time.  I missed her, but I was able to get so much done while Liam napped in the afternoon!  I'm so glad we have awesome neighbors who are friends with my kids.

3. My clean desk.  All the clutter and paper piles have been removed (or relocated).  I am now ready to tackle our 2013 taxes.  Hooray for me.

4. The 2 hour school delay this morning.  We got more snow last night.  I was not so excited about that, but it was nice to have more time to get up and going before Lillian had to be out the door for school.  I stayed up WAY too late last night watching the Olympics, then I got sucked into watching Jimmy Fallon's first night as host of The Tonight Show.  I'll admit that is was more U2 than Fallon that kept me watching, and it was mostly worth it, but I wouldn't be able to sustain and nightly ritual of watching The Tonight Show...do people really stay up that late every night??  Ha, listen to me...I'm looking at the clock and it's midnight.  Time for me to get my beauty rest.

Grateful Despite the Snow

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The Olympics.  They are so fun to watch!  And it gives me something to do while I fold laundry at night. :)

2. Cousins!  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to visit with her five kids this afternoon.  It was fun to watch all the kids play together.  I'm grateful that we live close enough to family for frequent visits and that our family takes time out of their busy schedules to spend time with us.  Can't wait til we live even closer to them.

3. Calls from Bobby.  He called four times today- every time he had a break between cases or was getting into his car to go somewhere.  I know he's thinking about us during the day and I'm glad he takes the time to check in and see how we're doing.  He's been away for the past six weeks and we only get to see him on weekends.  It's hard for everybody, but he's helping to keep us connected across the distance.

4. My children's smiles.  It warms my heart every time to see their faces light up with a great big grin.  I never get tired of it.