Come on, people! Be Thankful!

"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." ~H.U. Westermayer

It's that time of year again, and I'm ready to make my post out to let ya'll know for what I am most grateful.

First and foremost, I'm thankful for my life. It's not perfect, far from it, in my opinion, but since when is perfection a requirement for finding happiness in your life? Since never, that's when!

Second, I'm grateful to be a member of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This church has given me so much to be thankful for: the knowledge of a loving Savior who suffered and died for me; the knowledge of a loving Father in Heaven who is aware of me and my needs. This church has also given me friends in strange places and a reason to get up on Sunday mornings. It has given me a modern-day Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, whose wise counsel has given my life meaning and direction at times when I felt most lost. All in all, the Church is so much in my life, that it is part of who I am. I can't have life without it.

"We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that 'gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.'" ~ Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

From our engagement photos. We were so young... and thin.

Thirdly, and this is a no-brainer. I'm so grateful for my family! My husband is amazingly loving and supportive and gives me so much grief ... uh... I mean, love and reason to be happy with life. He puts up with my tears and holds me when I'm falling apart, which, I'm an emotional being, so that happens a lot! He has seen me at my highest high and my lowest low and I am so grateful for his continued love in my life.

About 9 months pregnant with Daniel.

My kids are obviously on this list as well. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. They were so little not so long ago. I'm glad I have been able to enjoy all the little moments with them along the way. That's what life is all about, isn't it?

Post breast-fed coma. Love that!

I wouldn't change my life for the world! These kids, my husband, my knowledge of who I am and what I can accomplish... this is what gives my life meaning. 

Certain times of the year, it's just necessary to reflect on the things that are most important in life, the things that make us grateful to be who we are. I hope you enjoyed my abbreviated, blog-worthy version. Now make your own! There's really nothing that will make you so happy as being grateful for what you have!

Call me Mommy

There are special moments that really make me proud to be a mother. One such moment happened while putting my Little D to sleep. Let me lay it out for you.

D and I lay down together on his bed. We get tucked in and sing songs. Sometimes we tell each other stories "Once upon a time, a little boy named... D!" or sometimes it's "named Monster!" Since Halloween, D can't really pull himself off of costumes, Halloween parties and monsters. We keep this nighttime routine the same, or as similar as we can. D doesn't deal with change very well. It takes him a while to adjust to something new in his life, like Preschool, but that's a story for another post.

D about a year ago. Love this boy.

 

So most nights, D and I argue a little. He's tired. He refuses naps, even at school and by the time bedtime rolls around we're already in near-constant meltdown mode. Not a fun mode to be in. But there are nights, like the particular night I'm going to tell you about next, when he is simply put, angelic. Nights like this I can only think how wonderful it is to be a mother, especially to be a mother to my sensational boy. He really is amazing. He knows just what to  say when I'm getting stressed out, "Ok, Mommy, take a deep breath ... now, hold yourself ... and Relaaaaaxxx." He knows what to say when I'm feeling sad, "It's alright to be sad, Mommy. It's okay to be sad sometimes." He gives kisses and hugs and loves to sit on my lap and tell me stories about the monster who loves to eat chocolate. 

How did I get this lucky? This blessed? I am so grateful for my little boy. Now, enjoy the short story of one bright moment that has made me feel so proud to be a mommy.

We often sing songs while getting D to sleep, and I decided to sing him this one: "I love you Daniel, oh yes I do. I don't love anyone, as much as you. When you're not near me, I'm blue, Oh Daniel I love you." He then said to me. "Oh Mommy, Kank you. That song make me soOOOOoooo happy." Then he decided to sing the song back to me: "I love you Mommy, love you Mommy. Make me red and pink, Love you Mommy." 

He then proceeded to tell me "that song so perfect Mommy. I love you."

Call me crazy, but there is nothing so sweet as that kind of payout. Being a Mommy is full-time year-round, no-days-off hard work, but when you consider the chunk payouts of love, is there really any reason not to be a mother? I submit that there is NOT! Being a mother is the best job on earth. Really!! I think I'll have 6 more! ... hmmm ... well. Maybe we'll just see how things go. I always try to take life one day at a time... I guess I have to take it one child at a time too. Call me crazy for wanting more, or for only wanted a few more.... let's face it. If I really have 6 more, I'll probably go crazy before the first one leaves the house! Whatever you call me, I hope that someone in this world still calls me "Mommy."

He played so hard. He fell asleep in the middle of his toys.

 

Picnic at the Lake

We met some new friends last weekend and had a picnic at Lake Monticello. It was really nice to meet some people our age with similar interests. They are not in similar life circumstances, meaning they don't have kids, they're not married, but they're in a committed relationship and they're both college educated adults, so I'll take it!

Miss E, we'll call her, was really great to talk with. She is aware of Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism Spectrum and applauded my efforts with Little D as well as my aspirations of working with families of Special Needs kids. She recommended books by Temple Grandin, who is an AMAZING woman living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and is a healthy, successful individual. She's a PhD. She is an expert on animal behavior and has used her first-hand knowledge of sensory challenges associated with ASD to write books and other helpful and scholarly literature. You GO girl! Her life has also been made into an inspirational HBO movie starring Claire Danes.  More information about Temple Grandin can be found here.

Anyway, I'm posting a few pictures about our little lake excursion. It was a fairly warm day, not much of a breeze. Really nice weather for November, though, I'm not sure if that's just me or if that's this part of Arkansas too. Let's just say, to me, it's not Fall until the leaves are turning and it's consistently at least 50 or below. That's not the case here, but everyone is acting like it's really cold out. It isn't, but I digress.

Little D and Em loved the lake. They collected shells and Em just about walked right out into the water. She is fearless! We also heard some blood-curdling screeches from some very large Turkey Vultures and a Heron somewhere out there. I think they were snacking on some kind of carrion. Anyway, the lake is pretty. The kids had fun at the park and playing by the lake. It was a really great day. If I was doing a creative writing blog, I might use the picture of the dock as a writing prompt. It might go something like this:


"She stepped gingerly onto the weather-worn wooden dock, eyes never leaving her mark, the end of the pier."

Oooo... spooky. You do the rest. Happy Veteran's Day and writing, and all that.

Brownies.... and Black Beans??

In my effort to disguise healthy foods, I decided to try a recipe called "Black Bean Brownies." What could be wrong with some healthy, protein filled, fibrous black beans mixed with some chocolate. Sounds like a win-win... well at least it did to me. More like a win-lose. Win first because I thought I would win. Lose because they were so disgusting I couldn't get past the bean flavor.

To be fair, I have a very discerning palate, so it's not really surprising that I couldn't stand the taste. I mean, chocolate should always be sweet and delicious, in my opinion. You should always want to lick your fingers with delight mixed with ecstasy. I mean, am I wrong in this? Chocolate should be a treat!

I got the recipe from another mom's blog site and I had already tried one recipe that was a home run, so I figured what did I have to lose? The answer: my breakfast!

See for yourself. They look pretty good. Not the best looking brownies I've ever seen, but they still look pretty yummy. Well maybe they do to you. All I see is a pile of beans deceivingly dotted with chocolate morsels.... and there goes my gag reflex.

It's not a total loss though. Little D has had a really great time making "birthday candles" by sticking Popsicle sticks into the pan. Soon I'll throw out the disappointing recipe and the brown squared things that resulted from it, but for now I'll just stare at my boy having fun and feel that twisted pang of failure.

Maybe I'll just pick out the chocolate chips before I throw it out. I can't let the best part go to waste, after all.

Working it out

Over the last few weeks while being here in the SOuth, I have discovered an unpleasant fact. ... my pants are getting tight, my "muffin top" is rising like bread dough and my heaving breaths while carrying laundry baskets across the house have gotten... HEAVE-ier.

In response to this development I first began to rationalize it away. I'm in the South! It's humid down here. I must not be drinking enough water, so my body is retaining it. Retaining water = gaining weight. Sounds simple enough and I felt good about it for a while... well only a short while.

My kids have been increasingly interested in the aforementioned "muffin top" which is uncomfortable at best. Stop poking my fat! I'm aware of it, I'd rather not be, thank you!

AFter this first rationalization fell apart, I decided it must a combination of retaining water and eating too much. The logic is lost on me with this one, but that's waht I was thinking. Eat less = less me! Well, not so.

In any case, neither of these explanations that I so creatively came up with explained my winded-ness. I thought maybe the humidity was taxing my airways and I would eventually get used to it. Well, I'm used to it now and there has been little change. In fact, with fall settling into the very wooded area that we're in, the pollen of the pine trees is in full swing, there is more dust and my airways are more irritated than before!

So, this morning I woke up with a resolve to get into shape. I already found a podcast that plays remixed songs to a nice "running" beat. Well, I'm not about to try running, but I do enjoy dancing, so dance I did! I danced and did pilates moves and push ups and sit ups. It lasted about 45 minutes because it took me that long to get the kids off of me every so often.

I feel great! I even did the dishes afterward. I think I'm going to like this. It would be nice if I could get back into a size 6, but I seriously doubt my post 2 baby body will ever do that. So, if I have to stay my current size forever, I'd at least like to be fit and healthy. I don't want to be running after my kids and collapse.

Here's to success and to finding the motivation to keep on exercising! WOO HOO!