30 days of thanks

Like last year, I spent the month of November finding something to be thankful for in every day. The big things are obvious...but the little things are just as important and it's an ongoing effort to stop and truly appreciate all those little things that make me an incredibly blessed and fortunate (and overall happy!) person.



Day 1: Thankful for sweet treats. Both a blessing and a curse after Halloween, but I chose to look on the bright side. :)
Day 2: Thankful for lazy weekend mornings watching a movie with my family (my messy house can wait).
Day 3: Thankful for quality family time on a gorgeous fall day at the NC Zoo.




Day 4: Thankful to be back at Zumba after a long hiatus. Such a great workout!
Day 5: Thankful for the ability to telecommute so I didn't have to actually be in the office for my 7 freakin' AM meeting.
Day 6: Thankful for a bath time full of laughs with this silly girl.



Day 7: Thankful for this gorgeous sunset (even though it came an hour too soon because of the time change!).
Day 8: Chocolate wine + Grownups 2 on Redbox + handsome hubby=perfect at-home date night. And for that, I'm thankful.
Day 9: Thankful for cousins that can come over for a last-minute play date.



Day 10: So, SO thankful that Lorelai's knee seems to be better and she's able to walk on it now. Whew!
Day 11: Thankful for all the veterans who have served our country.
Day 12: Thankful for the joy this girl brings into all of our lives, with every kiss, every smile, every hug.



Day 13: Thankful for the sibling bond these 3 share. In quiet moments like these, I'll often find them snuggling, completely unprompted. I'm also thankful for my own sister, whose birthday is today.
Day 14: Thankful for family dinners.
Day 15: Thankful that Lorelai did so well on her first trip to the dentist and got a clean bill of health.



Day 16: Thankful for my silly boys (and photobombs by Logan wearing Lorelai's Minnie Mouse ears).
Day 17: Thankful for gorgeous mild weather in the middle of November, and neighbors for the kids to play with.
Day 18: Thankful for a daycare center that has taken excellent care of Aidan, Logan and Lorelai over the past 9 years. One that's so fun, Lorelai doesn't want to leave at the end of the day.



Day 19: Thankful my kids are good sleepers (and pretty much always have been). We really got lucky! And I just love how peaceful and angelic they look when they're sleeping.
Day 20: I cannot even tell you how thankful I am for what Logan wrote, especially that last line, especially given some not so warm fuzzy feelings he's expressed recently. Not gonna lie, this totally made me cry happy tears.
Day 21: Thankful that Logan is willing and able to help quiz Aidan on his spelling words.



Day 22: Thankful that both Adam and I were able to attend Logan's class Thanksgiving play/feast. He was so shy standing in front of everyone, but memorize every single thing. #proudmom
Day 23: Thankful that Aidan and Logan are so helpful with grocery shopping. Aidan's got 2 bags like Adam, Logan's got one bag and Lorelai's hand.
Day 24: Thankful for relaxing spa time where I enjoyed a nice facial (compliments of a birthday gift from Adam...from May).



Day 25: Thankful for warm blankets and Parks and Rec on the DVR. Brrr!
Day 26 (oops, missed a day): Thankful for Bojangles.
Day 27: Thankful for fun family time at Frankie's and a day off to spend it.



Day 28: Thankful for family, excellent food, and the loving hands that prepared it. Happy Thanksgiving!
Day 29: Thankful for Grandma sleepovers and a kid-free date night.
Day 30: Thankful for Lorelai's first successful sleepover at Grandma's (was totally expecting her to bail and have to come home like last time) and a morning date to see Catching Fire while the kids were still at my mom's.

As always, there's so much more I could include on this list. Not everything's all sunshine and roses in my life all the time (obviously), but I'm filled with so much gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. ~E.P. Powell





I have more blessings than I can count. Our family near and far, our health, my job, our house, friends and so much more. The gratitude is overflowing.



Most of all, I'm thankful beyond words for my loves. They make my world go around, and I hope they always know how special they are and how much they're loved.










Today we're hosting my mom and Adam's parent for a simple, low-key Thanksgiving. No traveling, minimal cooking because our parents are bringing a bunch of the food (including the turkey), and no pressure on my part to do any sort of formal entertaining. For that, I'm thankful.


Simplest centerpiece ever: lightly spray painted silver/gold pine cones from the back yard + dried leaves from the front yard.


The food is prepped, the house is clean (enough), and I've got a loose shirt and stretchy pants on. Thanksgiving, let's do this!

Vehicles are a huge freakin' money pit

In the two months that Adam's been without a job, we've spent more money on our cars than we have in the at least the past two years. First we had to replace all the tires on the Odyssey because they were bald--to the tune of almost $600. Then a rock cracked the windshield of the Civic. Another $100 gone. And yesterday the Civic's check engine light came on. Did you know that replacing an O2 sensor costs almost $600? Well we sure know now. :(  Maybe Adam needs to switch careers or take up a car repair hobby in his spare time because OMG.

And of course this all happens right before Christmas. Seriously?!

Dear Santa...

A mom cliche

I'm officially the cliche of a mom who can't call her kids by the correct name. I used to say the wrong name occasionally when the boys were little, but lately, I've found myself pretty frequently going through every name except the one who I was talking to. "Lor- Log- Adam, ugh you! Whatever your name is...AIDAN!" or some variation happens all the time now. I've even called my poor HUSBAND "buddy" on accident, which is a term that is strictly reserved for my boys. Oy.

Oh, and after eleventy billion questions of WHY WHY BUT WHY HOW COME??? over the years, I now fully embrace the dreaded "because I said so." A phrase that I secretly swore to myself I'd never use because I thought it was annoying and ridiculous growing up. But sometimes, there really is no other answer. So mom, I get it now. :)



Hey you, whatever your name is! Smile a little, buddy...because I said so. :)

What does love mean?

As I was cleaning up my (embarrassingly out of control) work inbox, I came across an old email forward about what love means to children. It inspired me to ask each of my kids "what does love mean?" so I took them each aside tonight and asked them the question separately, and their answers melted my heart:

Aidan, age 9: "Love is liking people in your family forever. It's liking people with all of your heart. (...It's so hard to describe!)"

Logan, age 7: "When you're in a family and you take care of each other. It's a feeling that makes you happy and grateful for your family because you never stop loving them."

Lorelai, age 3: "Ummmm....hugs and kisses! And Peaches!"

And to me? Love means my heart is bursting with joy because these four are in my life, and I would do anything for them.



**********

And here's the email forward that inspired me, for your reading pleasure:

A group of professionals posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." ~Rebecca, age 8



"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." ~Billy, age 4


"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." ~Karl, age 5


"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." ~Chrissy, age 6


"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." ~Terri, age 4


"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." ~Danny, age 7


"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." ~Emily, age 8


"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents
And listen." ~Bobby, age 7 (Wow!)


"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate." ~Nikka, age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)


"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day." ~Noelle, age 7


"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." ~Tommy, age 6


"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." ~Cindy, age 8


"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." ~Clare, age 6


"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." ~Elaine, age 5


"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." ~Chris, age 7


"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." ~Mary Ann, age 4


"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." ~Lauren, age 4


"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." ~Karen, age 7


"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." ~Mark, age 6


"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." ~Jessica, age 8

And the final one:

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Sibling love

My kids love each other. There's no doubt about that. Sure, they bicker sometimes and make each other cry occasionally, but the bond they have amazes me and melts my heart.

All fears I had about bringing a sibling into the mix when I was pregnant with Logan were erased when I saw how much Aidan loved his brother right from the start. Logan adored Aidan right back.



And it was a no-brainer when number three rolled around. I've probably said it before, but even before Adam and I pulled the trigger on number three, Aidan and Logan both got together and asked us specifically for a sister. And oh, how they adore her. Even when she's crazy. :)







No doubt about it--we were giving them the gift of a sibling. The blessing of built-in friendship and companionship. Something I hope they'll cherish and nurture for a lifetime.

But in the event that they need to be reminded in the future, here are just some (out of many!) little things that show how much they love each other and how sweet they are to each other:

>>>  This weekend, Lorelai fell really hard on her knee. She wouldn't bend it, couldn't stand on it, and cried in pain several hours (and a nap) after it happened. We ended up having to go to urgent care to have it x-rayed, and when I told the boys I was going to call my mom to stay with them so they didn't have to wait with us, they both said no. They were so worried about her (just like last time) and didn't want to leave her. The x-rays came back clear and she ended up being fine the next day around lunch, but it was touching how protective they were of her.



>>> Aidan got off the bus one day, pretty upset. When we asked him about it, he started crying and said he didn't know if Logan got on the bus, since the bus driver made him sit in a different seat at the back. The whole bus ride, Aidan feared that his brother was at school alone. He was so broken up about it.

>>> Logan is not much of a morning person, and definitely not a Monday morning person, and he was having a particularly grumpy day this week. When I got Lorelai up for school, she wanted to go see the boys, like usual. When I told her Logan wasn't in a good mood, she said "I have an idea mommy. One more kiss. Let's go give Logan one more kiss." She also insists on giving the boys a kiss every night before bed.

>>> The boys are always on high alert when it comes to Lorelai's peanut allergy. They were so cautious during trick-or-treating, making sure she didn't get into anything she wasn't supposed to, making sure we knew if she got something unsafe, and directing her to the safe candy if she got a choice.

>>> Logan got a booboo (okay, Aidan give it to him during one of their playful fights that got out of hand...) and Lorelai immediately ran to the freezer to get him the ice pack.

>>> If they're watching TV on the couch, I'll often find them snuggled up with each other. Not even sure they know they're doing it. Just an arm on the shoulder here, or a hand on the knee there.



While I hope this bond will last a lifetime, I do know that they will fight along the way, and may grow apart. So I'm going to cherish all of these beautiful sibling moments while I can. We're all so blessed.

Fall on the brain

It's about time I've embraced fall, right? Especially since it's practically winter (according to Starbucks and their red cups and pepperminty drinks...). As much as I cling to summer, I might be the saddest of all to see fall end...because once these gorgeous leaves fall, it's nothing but cold, short, dark days for a while.



We went to the zoo this weekend and it was a gorgeous fall day. 60 degrees without a cloud in the bright blue sky. Days like that make me almost want to change my tune about Fall not being my favorite season. Trees filled with vibrantly colored leaves that fall whimsically to the ground. A slight chill in the air with an occasional breeze, warmed by the sun's rays. Yet not a drop of sweat in sight.

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” ~Albert Camus



On a related note, daylight savings time sucks. But surprisingly, it's not because I've been up at the crack of dawn with kids who won't sleep. My kids don't seem to have been affected AT ALL. In fact, we had to wake Lorelai up on Sunday morning to get to the zoo. Me on the other hand? I've been in a bit of a funk these past few days. Result of the early darkness? Maybe...

But before winter rears its ugly head, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of every colorful tree and mild day we're graced with.

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And guess what? I got a pumpkin picture! It was just a decorative display at the zoo and not an actual pumpkin patch (obviously), but it's good enough to be my annual pumpkin picture I wanted so badly. :)




PS: an hour after I hit publish, I realized that maybe I should have used "autumn" in my post title so it didn't sound like I fell and injured my brain? Ha!