Thankful - picking my battles

We have a fight every morning over what Zeke will wear. He will only wear black athletic socks, certain shirts and only working boots. When I say only I mean ONLY. Like big big fits if I make him wear anything else. I'm thankful he's the fourth child and I have learned to pick my battles. I've chosen to buy more black socks so we have enough all week, let him wear the same three shirts and allow him to wear working boots everyday. 

Thankful

Somehow time got away from me again . Today I'm thankful that it was warm enough to send the kids outside after school...after a long stretch of below zero temps, 20degrees felt pretty good tonight! I love that the days are longer and maybe spring will come soon! 

Him

I don't have to say much...there are a million reasons why I'm thankful for Ben. We have our ups and downs... sometimes it feels like in the middle of all the chaos, we have more downs than ups but at the end of the day...there is no one else I would want by my side. 

7:39

Today I'm thankful that at 7:39 we are out of the house and there has been no yelling and screaming. This is a very rare occasion! 

Thankful today

As much as I hate getting up early...I'm thankful that three years ago I made the commitment to do something for myself and be healthy. I'm thankful -most days- that my alarm goes off at 4:41 and I get am hour to myself. 

Most of all....I'm thankful that tomorrow is Wednesday and it's my morning to sleep in! 

Thankfulness-one on one time

Any parent of more than one child knows how precious one on one time is with their children. Today Evan had an eye doctor appointment. We took full advantage of the couple hours together...Evan talks a lot when he is alone. It's pretty cool to carry on a full, intelligent conversation with him! 

After his appointment we enjoyed a McDonald's shake. Isn't he looking pretty cool in dad's sunglasses after getting his eyes dilated? 

Thankful

I'm thankful for patience. Every now and then...in a rare moment I find some patience and try really hard to create memories for the boys. I wish I did stuff like this more often with them...but instead of dwelling on all the things I could do but don't, I'll focus on the times I do. We made cookies and the boys thought they were the best cookies they had ever had! 

Day 9

I'm thankful that the "penny" Zeke swallowed went down easily. (Everything is a penny to Zeke. At best, it was a dime...worse case scenario a silver dollar :-)  Most of all I'm thankful for the ability to smile at a situation like this. In the most hectic and trying weeks...thank you Zeke for this. For the reminder that through the chaos...there's always the opportunity for more. 

Day 8

Tonight.....it's a stretch. It's been an ugly day. One of those days that I would really like a do over. From the start... Not good. Tired crabby kids in the morning. Late for school only to be greeted at my office door with a new student and a crying 8th grade girl. Coat still on, bag still packed, dealing with that. Typical day but on a rough morning, I could have used 5 minutes to regroup. I hit the ground running from the start and the whole day was like this .

After school. Ugly. I'm ashamed of how it went with the boys. Ugly. 

Dealt with school stuff tonight over email. Some days there is no escaping it. 

And now kids are in bed. House is quiet. I have lots of regrets as to how the day went. I can only try to do better tomorrow. So tonight I struggle to find the grateful part. My blessings are well disguised tonight. 

Tonight I am thankful for the messy house my kids left me. They are quiet and as I trip over toys and wish for a do over, I'm thankful I am blessed to have days like this... Blessed beyond measure - the chaos, the mess, the noise, the destruction others may never get to experience. I'm thankful that tomorrow I get to do it all over again (ugh) but tomorrow I get to try harder, be more patient, be more loving and be the mother I really should have been today. It's a new day. Oh, and I get to take them all to the dentist! That should be great! 

Day 7

Although it makes for late nights and hectic bedtimes...I'm thankful for the experiences that my boys get when they watch their dad coach and "help" after the meets. The kids have some great role models to look up to and get to experience more than most little boys do.

Day 6

Today it is easy to say what I'm thankful for! School keys! Our district just built a Wellness Center. It isn't even open to the public yet. Today I am thankful that we have school keys and somewhere to go to burn some steam off. Today I was thinking about how thankful I am that Ben and I have the same schedule as the kids and each other so we can enjoy our days off together.

We played football, tried basketball, drove R/C cars, flew a helicopter, and somehow ended up in the wrestling room!

Day 5

I have been thinking today of all the things I am thankful for...today was one of those days where my blessings are all so easy to list. It's been a super crazy busy day today. I am thankful that we had so many things to do that we couldn't get it all done.

I'm thankful for my sweet nieces that we got to see for a few minutes when we delivered Zoe's birthday gift to her. I'm thankful that our boys are active and involved and we couldn't stay for Zoe's party because we had to get to Evan and Eli's wrestling meet. I love watching them compete and have fun doing it.

But most of all, tonight, after a crazy busy day, I'm thankful for my warm house. The wind is whipping outside my window, and the temps are predicted to get down to -30 with windchills as low as -50 degrees...I'm thankful for my house and who I share it with.

Day 4

I'm thankful that even when the weather is horrible and all everyone is doing is complaining about the terrible cold...we have a three year old that finds complete JOY in eating dirty snow and standing outside in the negative windchill instead of getting in the van.

I'm thankful for the reminder to find joy in seeing the world through the eyes of a 3 year old.

Day 3

For good friends.... I'm blessed with having one of my best friends as my neighbor. We share a cul de sac with close friends and it couldn't be more perfect. More perfect as our kids are very good friends....Eli is three days older than Kami and Zeke is exactly 1 year older than Kaden. The two little boys share a birthday 1 year apart. 

We lived in Nashua about 7 years before I had some true, close friends. And now I'm blessed with them as neighbors . 

Day 2

As much as I dreaded going back to school today, I am truly thankful for my job. Not only does it pay our bills and keep us fed, it challenges me. As guilty as I feel some days for taking kids to daycare and working full time, it's what I'm supposed to do. I am better because of it. I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

365 grateful

I'm going to try this....  365 days of gratefulness.

 Day 1

Movie night and a three year old that wants to snuggle in the chair.

Tonight Zeke looked into my eyes and said "I love you, mom, you 'mell good"