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.