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Mon
24 ^th

100 Things That I am Thankful For

Posted by Pinparent — 14 Comments

Why is it that it takes the holidays for us to reflect on the things in our life that are most important? On New Year’s we resolve to better ourselves, on Valentine’s Day we show appreciation for our spouses & lovers and on Thanksgiving we give thanks for all of the gifts that god has given us. We should resolve to be better every day. We should celebrate our love & all of these gifts every second, but with the stresses of work, bills & daily life often we do forget. The holidays do offer a great nudge. This week is Thanksgiving. There are many things that I am grateful for but often take for granted. I challenged myself to make a list of 100 things, some are things that I cannot live without, some are the little things that make me smile, but all are things that make be thankful. These are not listed in any particular order.

1. My husband & daughter and my extended family

2. Life and health

3. A good-natured debate

4. Watching my daughter sleep

5. Low fat frozen yogurt

6. Weekends off

7. My memories

8. Sweatpants

9. Art

10. My daughter’s laughter

11. Owls

12. Changes of season

13. My mother-in-law

14. Spanx

15. Meditation

16. The money in my wallet

17. Beauty in unexpected places

18. Our travels

19. Chocolate

20. Inspiration

21. My sister

22. Color

23. Day dreams

24. Heated mattress pads

25. Inside jokes

26. Home movies

27. Forgiveness

28. Good friends that are always there

29. Books

30. Unsolicited compliments

31. Thunderstorms

32. ‘The Princess Bride’

33. Tears of happiness

34. Hugs

35. Upbeat people

36. Decaf coffee

37. Foot rubs

38. Singing when no ones listening

39. Raw honey

40. Our dog

41. All the I love yous

42. Old photographs

43. A good sneeze

44. The blogs that I follow & the ones that follow me

45. Peppermint Patties- Get the sensation

46. My mother visiting in my dreams

47. Pinterest

48. Central Air

49. Post-It notes

50. The Beatles

51. Water

52. My snooze button

53. Dance

54. Finding a solution to a problem

55. Bubble baths

56. The warmth of the sun

57. Cherry blossoms

58. Swiffer

59. Baby feet

60. Traditions

61. Drive through windows

62. “The Big Bang Theory” nerds

63. Naps

64. Movie quotes

65. Moments of silence

66. Kisses

67. Brie & jelly

68. Dimples

69. Anti-bacterial wipes

70. Netflix Streaming

71. Internet shopping

72. Sunsets

73. Family outings

74. That perfect little black dress

75. Herbal tea

76. Pearl jewelry

77. The sound of bagpipes

78. Respect

79. Moments of clarity

80. Snow Days

81. Looking up at the stars

82. Cuddling on the couch

83. Our home

84. Christmas Carols

85. The sounds & smell of the beach

86. Toe socks – Have you ever worn a pair? You would be thankful too.

87. A blank canvas

88. A quick-witted comeback

89. Girls’ nights out

90. Kindness of strangers

91. Nutella

92. The lessons I have learned from the mistakes I have made

93. Puns

94. Musicals

95. Vicks Vapor Rub

96. A lit fireplace on a cold night

97. Hair colorant

98. Over-sized sweaters

99. My glue gun

100. God for blessing me with all of these gifts

What are you most thankful for? Can you list 100 things that you are grateful for? I challenge you to post your list. Link back to me if you do so that I may see what makes you thankful.

Sun
08 ^th

How Toddlers Make Friends

Posted by Pinparent — 8 Comments

It is utterly fascinating to watch my child & not just mine, any child really. The way a child sees and approaches life is so different than how we do it as we get older. Today was another great example of this.
After a fun day playing outside with my daughter, we went to an ice cream parlor in town for a little summertime treat. While we waited in line to place our order a little girl a few months younger than Mai approached her. At first Mai was uncharacteristically quiet and standoffish. Her mother came over and introduced herself and collected her daughter. A moment later the little girl whose name was Lily returned. My girl became her usual self and began to talk with Lily.
As she was speaking I noticed her bending her knees slightly and moving into a squat.
“We walk outside and Dukey took a biiiig poop. He poop on the ground” She gestured to her bottom as she continued to squat and tell her story.
Several tables of patrons broke out in laughter as they overheard this exchange.

Lily’s response was to break out in song with an adorable version of ‘Ring around the Rosies’ This was all that it took to strike up a new friendship.

Quickly the two were chasing each other around the tables as my daughter exclaimed “Chase me! You can’t catch me. I gingerbread man!” They chased each other, hid behind the chairs & hugged each other. It was as if they had played together a million times and not just strangers that had just met moments before.

How wonderful it is that children have the ability to do this, to meet someone new without judgment or suspicion and welcome them without hesitation.

How beautiful it would be if we could all approach new relationships like this.

It got several of us tables to joking if only we could all make friends so easily. Perhaps on my next encounter with a new person, I will break into a discussion about my dog’s bowel movements and then offer them a hug. I will let you know how that goes.

Mon
17 ^th

Things You Don’t Realize Until You Have Kids

Posted by Pinparent — 46 Comments

Today my husband, posed a question that got me thinking “What would our life be like if we never had our daughter?” This question shocked me because I never thought about it once. He referenced the change in our coffee table since we had a child. Where there was once a beautiful contemporary glass and steel table now sits a wooden one with drawers and crumb filled child bumpers. What once only held just a small decorative frame is now filled with dried up chunks of Play-doh, crayons, puzzle pieces, etc..etc… etc…It is amazing how such a small thing, such as a coffee table can even be impacted by a child.

I used to think that I did not want children. Life was too good. We were happy. My husband and I both had great careers, lived comfortably, traveled around the world and enjoyed each other. I would watch my friends with children. I would see their children have tantrums. I would watch their frustration and hear them complain. One of my girlfriends would often in the same breath, yell at her kids, complain about what they had just done & then end our conversation with “I can’t wait until you have kids.” Whooooah! What?! Are you kidding?

I did not understand my friends. I never understood why my friends didn’t have the time to do the simplest things. My husband & I would always scoff and say we wouldn’t stop our lives if we had children. What I realize now is it is not stopping your life, it is just changing your priorities.

It used to annoy me when my friends would refer to their children in terms of months for years.
“How old is she now?”
“She is 18 months.”
“Oh, you mean a 1 1/2.”
Boy, I was a bitch. I often joked that I was going to start referring to myself in months. I understand now why we use months to measure our toddler’s age. The changes that occur from month to month are so vast that every month counts. Incidentally, this year I will be turning 480 months.

It drove me nuts when they would do nothing but talk about their children, Isn’t there anything else to say? Now who is the worst offender? I talk about my kid so much I have to blog about her.

So to answer my husband’s question. “What would our life be like if we never had our daughter?” If we never had our daughter, I am sure that we would have been perfectly content continuing to live the life that we were living, because we would have been blissfully unaware of what it was like to be parents. We would not realize the amount of joy that this little person could bring into our lives. We wouldn’t know how it feels to have her say mama or dada for the first time. We wouldn’t comprehend the euphoric wave of happiness that can come over you from a single sweet kiss. We would not understand it as we did not understand the rest of these things. Life would be good… but with her life is better.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Please follow us on Facebook as well.

Mommy’s night out

Posted by Pinparent — 14 Comments

As much as I love being a mother, it can be exhausting & sometimes overwhelming. It is not very often that I get a night to myself to unwind, so when my husband offered to watch our daughter for the night, so that I could get a night out with the girls, I jumped at the chance.
It had been a while since I have been away from my family other than going to work. I was looking forward to it all week. Then when the day finally arrived, I found myself feeling guilty for going out. As my work day was ending, I was second guessing my decision to go out with my friends.
I haven’t seen my daughter all day

I have to wake up with her in the morning

What if daddy feeds her Doritos for supper?

These are the things that went through my head. As much as I always complain that I need a break, the truth is the second I leave my family, I miss them. Despite all these excuses, I pulled myself together and went out with a couple of other mommies, for a girl’s night out.

My girlfriend Maura has a knack for finding fun and original things to do. She found a spot called ‘Brush it off’. It is a group painting session, where they serve beer & wine. I might never leave.

They give you a subject to paint & take you through a step by step process to achieve a great piece of DIY artwork. Our subject was the Ferber daisy.

When you arrive, they have you put on your apron & gather your paint & brushes.

Don’t forget to grab your drink. I made mine a Shipyard Pumpkin Ale.

They took us step by step through each part of the flower. The instructions were detailed but simple.

After two hours of painting, a few drinks & some laughs. My masterpiece was done.

It was a fun night with good friends . All of us, off duty mommies had a great time & don’t all of us moms deserve that once in a while.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Please follow us on Facebook as well.