Michael Jackson and Tacos

Tonight I'm thankful for...

1. Michael Jackson dance parties with neighborhood friends.

2. The way my kids devour tacos and how Liam gets sour cream on his nose.

3. Holding hands with Lillian while I sing bedtime songs and she drifts off to sleep, then giving her 3 squeezes to say I-Love-You and getting 4 squeezes back to say I-Love-You-Too...our secret little code we've been doing for years.  She's still my little girl.

4. The way Sydney will eat an entire bowl of cherries, and then inevitably have diarrhea later, but how that won't stop her from eating another bowl of cherries tomorrow.

5. My house.  I have to remind myself how happy and excited I was to move into it three years ago.  Now that we are very settled into it and we've had time to examine and experience every crack and flaw that it has to offer, I have to still be grateful for it.  It's a huge improvement from where we were before (in terms of both space and location), plus it's on an awesome street, and I know I won't live here forever (just one more year, in fact...not that I'm counting down or anything).  So even though it seems like clutter piles are EVERYWHERE and toys are spilling off shelves and laying all over the floors, and sometimes I think I'm going to explode from the chaos that is housed within these walls, I am still grateful to call it home.

6. My malfunctioning endocrine system and the anxiety that it causes.  I'm not actually grateful for this, but I am grateful for my improved ability to identify it, recognize it, and realize that it's not a normal way to feel.  I do not take my "normal days" (which hopefully are more often than not...) for granted, and I've learned to recognize those as well and to savor in the ease and joy that they bring.

Sleeping Angels

What I Like About Winter

As freezing rain is falling from the sky outside, turning the landscape into a big frozen block of ice, I'm sitting inside trying to be positive about this wonderful season we call Winter. I've been conjuring a list in my head all day:

1. Warm, cozy fires in the living room.

2. I can leave wet clothes in the washing machine for days without them getting that gross musty smell.

3. Chocolate does not melt into the seats and the floors of the van.

4. Building snowmen and sledding with the kids, even when my nose turns red and my fingers and toes go numb.

5. Hot chocolate with whipped cream and extra marshmallows.

6. I can leave groceries in the car and not worry about the milk going bad or the chicken nuggets thawing out.

7. Clean, white, sparky snow...while it lasts.

8. It makes me appreciate the long-awaited Spring SO much more!!

Tonight I'm thankful for:

Singing my children to sleep

Christmas lights and how they make me feel warm and cozy inside

The Hanukkah cards Lillian is making for all of her Jewish friends

The way Liam hugs me real right and says, "I LOVE you, Mommy!"

The three different advent calendars that we have counting us down to Christmas

The Christmas songs Sydney has been learning at preschool and how she sings them non-stop around the house

Clean laundry- it's all still in baskets, unfolded and not put away, but still clean none-the-less

Dinners with Bobby, even if they are at 5pm and he has to leave at 6:15pm to work an over-night shift

Piano music from Paul Cardall

Long Overdue List

Today I'm thankful for:

My children, whom I think are the most beautiful little people in the world.

My husband who loves me.

Unseasonably warm weather and a nice walk around the block before going to the bus stop to get Lillian.

Helping Lilly with her math homework.

Playing five rounds of The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game with Liam and Sydney while I fold laundry in the floor.

The kisses that Liam blows to me when I walk out of his room at bedtime, and how he tells me to have sweet dreams.

The way Sydney bounces and skips everywhere she goes.

How Bobby will stick around to eat dinner with us before he has to leave for his night shift at the hospital, even though it means he'll be a little late.

Audio books that keep me entertained while I clean the kitchen.

Lillian's company. She's my little bff and I'm so grateful for her companionship.