Dec. 5

Today I'm thankful that:

• Aveline and Lily could go to bed at a good time.
• I am already feeling better from being sick.
• Aveline took a long nap today so I was able to take a nap too.
• we could go with Mummis to buy yarn for her to make us some Christmas stockings.
• Lily picked some nice colors for her stocking (I was worried about letting her pick her own colors as a 2-year-old, but she did a good job with very little help.)
• Matt could come home and help some with the kids and dinner.
• Matt's meeting did not go very late like it usually does.

Dec. 3

Today I'm thankful that:

• I didn't have to go anywhere, do a lot of walking, which I'm sure helped my toe not get worse.  It got hurt yesterday.
• we could have FHE and watch part of the Christmas Devotional since we didn't get to watch it yesterday.
• I was able to find some patterns for Mummis to make me some Christmas stockings.
• Lily got up to pee last night in the middle of the night, even though she was wearing a diaper and could've just peed in it.
• the business at Matt's store has really picked up (last month was horrible).
• Matt was able to come home fairly early and help out, especially when I was making dinner and Aveline broke a dish.

Month of Thanks - post 21

Today I'm thankful that:

• Matt and I could go clothes shopping and I was able to get a couple new shirts at really good prices.
• Aveline's doctor appointment went well today.
• Aveline took her first little step today and the whole family was together when it happened.
• Lily ate the burrito that she didn't finish at lunchtime for dinner.

Month of Thanks - post 20

Today I'm thankful that:

• Matt made dinner and cleaned up in the kitchen.
• I was able to get a few things done: laundry, cleaned up some (namely cleared off the stack of papers and junk that has been accumulating on top of our file cabinet for some months), took a shower.
• Aveline turned 9 months old today, I remembered about it, and I was able to take 9-month photos of her.
• We were able to put up our indoor Christmas wreath (we got it last year to put on our front door but it was too big to fit in between the door and storm door).
• We had a pretty good family home evening (using this talk).  I wasn't sure I planned it to be very kid-friendly, but Lily seemed pretty interested and like she was paying attention pretty well.

Month of Thanks - Post 19

Today I'm thankful:

• for my home.  There's nothing like being away from your home, even for one night, that makes you appreciate what you have when you come back home.
• that we got to church early, and that was even after everyone in the family had baths/showers, ate breakfast, and Matt went to a meeting.
• that we were able to go to Matt's parent's house for dinner, especially to be able to see his sister's family one more time before they went back to CA.
• for Brazilian limeade.  So delicious...
• that both kids took good naps after church today.

Month of Thanks - post 18

Today I'm thankful that:

• Matt and I got to go to Breaking Dawn Part 2 with his sister and brother-in-law.
• We all slept pretty well last night at Matt's parent's house.
• Both kids went to sleep easily tonight.
• I was able to have a pretty relaxing day.  Didn't have to worry about doing any housework, or food, or even taking care of the kids too much.
• We've been able to spend a lot of time with Matt's family this Thanksgiving weekend.  Only person we've missed is his brother Tony who's stuck out in CA.
• Lily and her cousins all get along so well.

Month of Thanks - post 17

Today I am thankful that:

• I got to go to my mom and sister's house for breakfast.
• I got to go to Music Makers and Rachel came so I was able to nurse Aveline while we were there.
• I was able to take a little nap.
• Matt decided to take Aveline so that I could go to bed.
• I got to play with Aveline on my bed for a few minutes before Aveline woke up from her nap.
• I was able to do Cub Scout Rechartering, at least the internet portion of it.
• I put away a couple of towels that had been sitting around for a while.

Month of Thanks - post 16

Today I'm thankful that:

• Aveline did not have trouble going to sleep like she did last night.
• I was able to go grocery shopping this morning and I was home before 10:40am.  So early!
• Aveline pooped fine.  She hadn't pooped in four days so Matt and I were starting to get a little concerned.
• My girls are so cute and sweet (at least some of the time).  Lily pretty regularly says Aveline is cute or sweet.  It makes me smile.
• I was able to clean our bathtub.
• I was able to give both girls a bath and also shower myself.
• Matt went and picked up some Hyland's Teething Tablets.  We haven't had to use them yet, but I'm sure we will.  We've never used them before so hopefully they'll work.  I've only heard good things about them.

Month of Thanks - post 15

Today I am thankful that:

• We got to church on time.
• Aveline was able to take a nap at church.
• I was able to go visit with some friends, one of whom just had a baby 2 weeks ago.
• Aveline only woke up once in the night and that I got to sleep in until 7:20am (normally we wake up around 7am).
• I did the dishes so I don't have to worry about doing them tomorrow.  Usually on Sunday it seems dishes don't get done so I have to do them Monday.

Month of Thanks - post 14

Today I am thankful that:

• a parent was able to drop of his son's Cub Scout application, so I didn't have to go pick it up.
• Matt was able to do so many things for me today: go to Costco, finish making the chicken salad that I was making for tomorrow, watch the kids (while making the chicken salad) so I could take a shower, give both kids baths, and take care of the kids at bed time so that I could have a girl's night with a friend.
• we had some leftovers that Matt could eat for dinner since we didn't make any for today.
• ibuprofen works.  I don't get headaches that often, but when I do I can always count on ibuprofen to get rid of it.
• I had Pad Thai and garden rolls for dinner.
• Aveline is learning how to eat finger foods by herself.

Month of Thanks - post 13

Today I am thankful that:

• We got to go to playgroup.  It's been a while since we've gone to our ward playgroup, so it was nice to go again.  Since it was cold it was at someone's home instead of a playground.  So, I am also thankful for the volunteer of letting a bunch of little kids come run around and play in her house.
• I got to take a nap again today!  I don't know how long I slept, but I was in bed for about an hour, so that was great.
• a woman helped watch out for my kids at Pack meeting while I was distracted talking to someone else.
• I did not scratch Lily's eye.  I almost poked her in the eye one time while I was reaching for her to stop her from running away.  Luckily my finger went just under her eye instead of in it.
• I tried to help some kids play in the hallway during Pack meeting because they were being kind of noisy running around in the gym.  They only stayed in the hall for a few seconds, so not sure it worked too well, but I'm glad I at least tried to help in a loving way instead of either A)doing nothing or B)trying to make the kids be still and quiet.

Month of Thanks - post 12

Today I am thankful that:

• I had a good time dancing to Gangnam Style several times during the day.  I was not having the best day, so at least this was able to cheer me up sometimes.
• I was able to take a nap today.  It was brief, but I haven't been able to take a nap in a long time so it was nice to finally be able to take one even if it was short.
• everyone in my family is healthy. I feel like a lot of people recently have.been getting colds so I'm glad that we have not gotten any, yet.

Month of Thanks - post 11

Today I am thankful that:

• I had a productive day.  I tried not to spend time being idle today.  I wanted to be able to look back at the day and be happy with how I spent the entire day.  I think I accomplished that.
• after a trying shopping trip with Aveline, I came home to see Matt's car in front of the house and Matt standing outside.  He was maybe going to have to work all day, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise to see him.
• I was able to take the afore mentioned pumpkin dip to a couple of women I visit teach and to my visiting teaching companion.  I know it wasn't anything necessary, or even anything that they may have wanted, but I like to subscribe to the quote "never suppress a generous thought."  It feels good to do something nice for people instead of shrugging it off and doing something else...like laundry for example.
• Matt could watch the kids while I was out delivering pumpkin dip.
• Matt and I could have a good dinner: chicken curry casserole aka chicken and broccoli.  It was delicious and it was nice that Matt was able to help make it.  It always goes so much faster with two sets of hands than one.
• Matt went to bed at a decent time tonight.
• Matt cleaned up and stuff while I was out (delivering pumpkin dip).

Month of Thanks - post 10

Today I am thankful:

• that my sister, Rachel, and my mom had me and the girls over for breakfast.  It's nice to spend time with them and also not have to worry about preparing food.
• for Music Makers (toddler music group that is every Tuesday).  Lily really loves it and even though Aveline is only 8 months old she gets into it sometimes too.  There was only one other lady there today with her 14-month old daughter, but it was kind of nice to have a little group like that because normally it is much bigger (and I was leading the group for the first time today, so it made it much less intimidating for me).
• that Rachel came with us to Music Makers.  It's nice when she comes so we can each take a kid, but it was especially nice to have her there today since I was leading.
• that I decided to make pumpkin dip for the Relief Society activity tonight.  It looked like not very many people had signed up to bring food and I had recently gotten a pumpkin dip recipe from Rachel, so I thought that would be a fast easy thing I could make.  It turned out to be a big hit!  Several people asked me for the recipe.
• that I was able to go to the Relief Society activity.  It was a fun night!
• that a friend offered to drive to the activity.  It's nice to be able to talk to someone while you're driving and also not waste the extra gas, make more pollution, etc. of driving separate cars.
• that Matt fixed the light in our backyard, and that it turns out it just needed a new light bulb and not something more difficult to fix.  It's nice to be able to see out there when it's night time.
• that Aveline is slowly but surely starting to eat more food.  Yesterday morning she ate an entire thing of baby yogurt.  That's the first time she's ever eaten an entire container of anything.
• that Lily's mattress is waterproof.  She peed in bed yesterday and it was very nice to be able to simply wipe off the mattress and put new sheets on it.

Month of Thanks - post 9

Today I am thankful that:

• I was able to pretty much take it easy.  Sometimes I'm so tired that I really can't handle doing much more than feeding myself and the kids.
• almost first thing in the morning I was able to read an article online that helped me change my attitude for the better (I was not in a good mood when I woke up).
• this evening when I was feeling discouraged Lily asked me what was wrong and when I told her she said with a cheerful smile, "It's OK."  Then she gave me a nice big hug and a kiss and said "come on Mommy."  Her kindness and cheerfulness totally lifted my spirits and gave me the energy I needed to get through the rest of the day.
• Matt gave Aveline a bath.  I usually don't mind giving baths, but it kills my back, so it's nice not to have to do it.
• while I was nursing Aveline,  Matt took out all the trash and cleaned up in the kitchen.
• Aveline only woke up to nurse once in the night.
• I finished off two different leftovers.  It was yummy food and it's always nice for food to get eaten before it gets old and has to be thrown out.
• we have For the Strength of Youth.  Matt and I have been using the topics (we skipped "Dating" and "Sexual Purity" as they don't really apply to our 2-year-old) for our Monday night Family Home Evening lessons and today we did the last one.  I think if youth will live by the standards in For the Strength of Youth they will be so much better off than if they do not live those standards.  The topic we did today was about work and self-reliance.  I think it is so easy to feel like living a life of rest and relaxation would be ideal, but in reality having a strong work ethic is so much more satisfying and helps you feel so much better about yourself.
• I was able to clean up some in the dining room.  I think when you have little kids wherever they eat should be cleaned at least once a day.  Unfortunately it does not happen nearly that often in our house, so it is always wonderful when it does get done.

Month of Thanks - post 8

Today I am thankful that:

• When I went to nurse Aveline during church I got to have some nice conversations with three different women.
• At church the two topics we talked about were resolving contention and kindness.  These are two topics that I very much wanted to hear about and I look forward to studying more about them this week.
• The Relief Society lesson last week that was about gratitude.  I feel that it was an answer to prayer.  I had prayed the day before church that I wanted to learn about something that would help me, that I didn't know what but that I hoped there would be something that I could apply to my life to help improve it.  I feel that the lesson and the challenge of keeping a gratitude journal is helping me.
• Matt helped Aveline go to sleep this evening.  She was not going down easy.
• Lily is wearing her underwear to sleep tonight (2nd time this week) and she has already gotten up once to pee as opposed to peeing in them.
• I was able to deliver some Cub Scout applications to a couple of families after church.  I was very glad to get this done as I had been planning on handing them out at church but couldn't because I forgot them at home.

Month of Thanks - post 7

Today I'm thankful:

• that despite wearing a diaper last night, Lily did not pee in it, nor did she get up to pee in the night (which means I did not have to get up).
• that Aveline slept all night (which means I got to sleep all night).  This rarely happens, so I'm always grateful for the occasional time that it does.
• for WD-40.  Can't fix creaky wood, but at least it can fix those squeaky door hinges.
• that Matt grilled tasty salmon for dinner.
• that we had a fun evening as a family, listening to music and dancing while making dinner.
• that Lily ate her dinner well without much complaining at all.
• that Lily likes to share.  She gets one piece of Halloween candy after she eats a meal well.  Today after lunch and after dinner she picked a package of M&M's and both times she offered some to me.
• that tomorrow is Sunday and Matt doesn't have to work.  It's the one day that Matt always has off, so I always look forward to it.
• that I saved part of a sandwich that Lily didn't finish yesterday because she actually wanted to finish it today.  It's always nice when leftovers are eaten instead of thrown out, and it's also a lot less work/time to take a sandwich out of a bag than to make a sandwich.

Month of Thanks - post 6

Today I am thankful:

• that Lily and I got to have a nice play date this morning, and that the weather was nice.
• that Lily wanted to wear her underwear last night instead of a diaper and she got up to pee during the night instead of peeing in her bed.
• for my home, and especially for our couches.  It is so nice to be able to sit down and enjoy what you are sitting on and enjoy your surroundings.

Month of thanks - post 5

Today I am thankful that:

• Aveline went to sleep at bedtime so easily. I put her in her crib and left the room and that was it. No crying or anything.
• Aveline ate a good amount of solid food each of the three times I fed her today.
• Aveline went back to sleep when she woke up crying at about 10:30 pm.
• Lily is such a forgiving loving daughter.
• I found and started using a breastfeeding tracking app. I'm thankful for my phone in general. It's so useful.
• there is Google and Youtube. Between those two things I can find pretty much anything I ever want to know.

Month of thanks - post 4

Today I'm thankful that:

• I am in Cub Scouts.  I look forward to having my own son in Cub Scouts because of my involvement in Cub Scouts now.
• My father-in-law could babysit while Matt and I were both at meetings this evening.  Having family nearby that can babysit for free is a huge blessing.
• I was able to buy some hand towels that I love for our basement bathroom, and I had 20% off coupons for all of them.
• Matt and I were able to get some laundry put away.  Clean clothes are nice.  Clean clothes that are put away is nicer.
• Matt and I had a good conversation about the election results and the path our country is on.

Month of Thanks - post 3

Today I am thankful that:

• I got to vote and that it only took me ten minutes, and I didn't have to take the kids with me.
• Aveline started nursing again.
• I was able to take Aveline to the doctor today and rule out that anything was wrong with her.
• I am able to floss every day.  It is crazy how much stuff gets stuck in between my teeth.
• I am able to use Listerine every day.  I love Listerine.  I especially love the vanilla mint flavor, but even the regular mint (cool mint?) is delicious to me (not to drink, just to swish).
• Matt helped make dinner.  I hate cutting up chicken, especially when it is bone-in.  It just takes forever for me to do, so whenever Matt can help with that it is great.
• I have Lily as a daughter.  It is hard to be patient with her, but she is also so sweet and so much fun.

Month of thanks - post 2

Today I am thankful that:

• Matt took out the trash and that he always takes out the trash. I am especially grateful that he throws out old food in the fridge. That has got to be one of my least favorite things to do.
• We have a public library near our house. I love that I can put books on hold and pretty much just walk in, pick up my books, and leave. I'm also grateful that Lily doesn't throw a fit when we have to return books. I'm grateful that the library puts out a monthly newsletter of recommendations of books for young kids like mine. And lastly, I'm grateful that there is a playground next to the library. Any time one trip can accomplish multiple activities/tasks is great.
• We had family home evening. Any time spent together as a family, not watching TV, is special to me. Family home evening is even more so because we talk about things that are important to our family to help us be better individually and as a family unit. It can be hard to have a quiet peaceful time with the kids, but there are moments of it--moments where I can feel the spirit and know we are doing the right thing.
• I not only showered today, but showered before noon.
• My friend delivered her baby today. Having a baby is an amazing, life-changing experience. It makes me so happy when a baby is born, especially when all are healthy and well, and especially when it is to a friend.

Month of Thanks

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which is this month, I have decided to follow so many others and write something I am thankful for every day this month.  I hope to do it even longer than a month, like forever.

So, today I am thankful that:

• my husband made breakfast and dinner.
• I got to watch my husband play hide-n-seek with Lily.
• I got to watch him play "I'm gonna get you" with Aveline and see Aveline laugh and squeal while crawling away.
• I got to see Aveline try to rock on our rocking horse and also try to walk with our sit-and-stand toy.
• Lily didn't put up a fuss when I didn't let her pick which story to read, when she wanted to read a story.
• We got to church early.
• Lily stopped herself peeing during her nap time, so that she only needed to change her clothes, not all of her bed things as well.
• I got to see/hear three baby blessings at church today.
• I am part of Relief Society and that we had such a good lesson today about gratitude.

Don't Throw the Baby out the Window

Ever heard the saying "all parents want to throw the baby out the window at some point"?  Well, it's true.  And nap time today was one of those times.

I had already tried to get Aveline to sleep in her crib with no avail, so I put her in her swing.  That calmed her down at least somewhat and after a little while she fell asleep.  I was worried she would wake up though, so I went to see about transferring her to her crib.  At that point I realized she had pooped in her diaper.  I feel bad for babies sitting in poop, so even though I knew she'd wake up I changed her diaper anyway.

I hoped she'd go back to sleep easily once I put her in her crib and gave her the pacifier.  For whatever reason she was being very stubborn.  I had already done this once within the hour and I was just tired.  I was trying to force her to take the pacifier and it wasn't working.  So, I left the room and closed the door and hoped that her crying wouldn't wake up Lily who was napping in the room next door.  After a few minutes of hoping she'd calm down on her own and go to sleep I decided I better go try again. 

Again she wasn't taking the pacifier.  I was so upset I wanted to launch the pacifier at her head and storm out of the room.  In that moment I knew I was frustrated and that being frustrated and trying to force the pacifier wasn't going to work.  But, I also knew that I didn't have it in me to do any better (I think sometimes three months of not enough sleep can do that to a person).  So I said a silent prayer, "God, please just make her go to sleep (so I don't beat her)."  And then I was able to get her to take the pacifier and she did go to sleep, fast.

In times of crisis like these I often struggle on my own without praying for help.  Sometimes I may not think of it, but usually that's not the case.  I don't know if it's because I'm afraid that my prayer will go unanswered or if I just feel like I should handle things on my own.  Either way, I am glad that I decided to pray this time and I am so thankful that that prayer was answered.

As an added bonus, when I left Aveline's room I checked on Lily and she was still fast asleep.