Thankful

A friend posted her thankful list on her blog, so I wanted to follow suit.  As the list could go on for pages, I will try to keep it brief. 

1. My family. All of them. Beginning with my spouse, kids, parents, siblings, niece, nephew, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins. This includes my friends. Those people who are family, just not by blood or marriage. Those who are there to celebrate the goodness and lament the sadness. Those who answer the phone even when they don't have time to talk. Those who understand when I hang up the phone in an instant because of some kid crisis and I don't have to explain. Please note that I don't put the words "in-laws" in the above list, because in our family, in-laws are just that - family. Parents means the four of them. Siblings, too. 

2. Modern Medicine. I am fighting a nasty cold and it just reminds me that as uncomfortable as I am this week, I am alive. It will pass. It won't be my end. If I get worse, my physician is a phone call away. I have choices of who to see and when to see them. I have medication available if I need it. Clean, well-run hospitals all over town. Ambulances to get me there quickly. 

3. Creature Comforts.  Without the house, cars, clothing, life would be tough. Too many don't have enough. I want to make sure I am appreciative of what I do have.  

4. The beautiful place where I live. Not just our home itself (which I really do love), but all that surrounds us. View of the mountain, beautiful trees, lots of green space. We have great neighbors. Those who are there when we need them but never too nosey or noisy. I love our city and our state. I love that we are 90 minutes from the sound of the ocean and 90 minutes from snow just about every day of the year. Our country. With a few exceptions, living in this country means you have food, clothing, shelter, clean water, and an education. 

5. Travel. I love visiting new corners of the globe. We are so fortunate to be able to see the world as part of Todd's job (aka - partially paid for). We are traveling less now with two kids, but look forward to ramping it up again as G gets older. 

6. Laughter. Today, the kids were playing in G's room and B was making her laugh. It lasted for quite some time. I wished, in that moment, that I could bottle the feeling I get when I see it, hear it, feel it. Unconditional happiness. 

7. Good Food. I didn't realize until I was in college that not every Mom was a good cook. All of the members of our family can cook a decent meal. Even those we tease or may only cook one particular dish, but they do it well. I married into a family with the same talents. Family gatherings are always accompanied by good food. But not just the good food at home. The good food being prepared in our area, too. After college, I really started to enjoy our local restaurant scene. Always trying a new restaurant. Ordering something unique. Lately, a few of the good restaurants in town have closed their doors. Sign of our tough economic times. Makes me feel bad for not going out more since we became parents. Makes me feel blessed that we still have the option. 

8. Public Servants. I am grateful and thankful for the men and women who protect us at home and abroad. Those who work for our cities, states and nation. From the TSA to the POTUSA. I am thankful that someone is protecting me when I sleep, even if I don't see it every day. I am thankful for those who keep our streets safe and clean. Those who teach our children. Those who deliver our mail. Those who keep the electricity, water, etc. connected to our homes. 

9. My spiritual life. I have a hard time putting this into words. I am thankful for my faith, my church, and our Priest.  Father B married us, invited T to become a Catholic, baptized both of our children, buried my grandfather and who continues to play a key role in our weekly faith journey. 

10. Philanthropy. I grew up listening to U2 play on the local radio station. My favorite movie stars posed in magazines. Today, Bono is raising money every chance he can to help those who are dying of AIDS in Africa. In fact, I recently heard him talk about why he became involved. It started with a trip to Ethiopia. Imagine that.  Brad Pitt spends as much time in the press talking about feeding the hungry and rebuilding the fallen, etc. as he does plugging his latest movie. The wealthy and famous could just be sitting around looking pretty and instead they are trying to bring awareness to the masses. It has become popular to be philanthropic.   

If you are still reading, thanks for that, too.

Random Thoughts

Little Miss G is an ever-changing gal. Along with her new walking skills, she has a new favorite way to sleep - with her posterior parts in the air. The fact that she found the corner of the crib is funny. The fact that we had raised one end of her crib (so that she was less congested when she slept) and she chose to burry her head DOWNHILL, priceless. 

Another new project underway in our house is Mommy learning how to style G's hair. For those of you who are unfamiliar, African hair is every different than hair caucasian hair. Where I typically wash my hair every day or so, we only wash G's hair once per week, so it doesn't get too dry. We also apply leave-in conditioner often - usually once or twice per day and it is still dry. Until recently, once the conditioner was in (and I made sure there were no knots), that was the end of our hair care routine. Well, in an attempt to make an outfit she was wearing look more feminine, I realized that I was ill-prepared to work on her hair. 

I need to start working on hair-pretties and all that represents. I called a good friend, looked at a few web forum posts, found a few websites, etc. G's hair is still short, but long enough to start sectioning into little puffs - more like little flowers on her head. Beads, snaps, hooks, bands, combs have been ordered. With just a few rubber bands, I was able to do the following...

The sides (and back) are still too short, so we lost the 2 side clumps after she finished posing for the camera. That left 3 cute little flower clumps on the top of her hair. They even lasted over night. Stay tuned for more photos as we figure it all out over the next several years. 

Another day in Paradise

As I have yet to master the art of getting both kids to nap at the same time, B and I spent about an hour this afternoon playing while G was asleep. I asked him what he wanted to do and he answered, "Play with trains." Being the multi-tasking queen, I made up a game of cleaning up the mess on the floor while "looking" for the trains. Along the way, we had to pull out a few other toys in preparation for the trains. 

1. I hope B never loses his desire to clean. He will play with the swiffer duster for hours and some of that time is actually spent dusting! I am not sure if this outfit is more Huck Finn or Pimp Daddy, but I love it nonetheless.

2. Just a shot to show he was having fun.

3. I am not sure if you can see it or not, but in these photos his eyes are nearly the color of his hat. 

4. B decides he has enough of the paparazzi and would like to get the camera for himself.

5. I decided it was only fair that he take a photo or two. I didn't touch the camera at all. He took this one on his own.

6. B decides he wants to get some of his toys into the action. First, he takes a photo of Harold the helicopter. Then I ask if B would like Harold's new girlfriend to join him in the photo.

"Sure," says B.

The he busts out with, "Say cheese, guys."

Followed with, "Ahhh. They look adooooorable." 

Wished I had a video camera running at that moment. 

Yes We Can

When I was in high school, our beloved school Principal was rumored to be retiring at the end of my junior year. We were pretty upset, to think that such a big change would come, in our opinion, one year early. Well, for reasons I don't know, Mr. Pickens decided to stick it out with us and retire after we graduated. At a pep rally that fall, right around this time of year, our high school football team was set to play the #1 ranked team, not just in our league, but in the state. Our football team was not, by any stretch of the imagination, expected to be a contender. In fact, up to that season, our school had NEVER beaten this particular opponent. So, up to the microphone walks Mr. Pickens. He begins to give a speech about being an underdog. Determination. Drive. Believe in yourself and you can move mountains, etc. He started chanting, "yes we can. Yes We Can. YES WE CAN!"  Of course, I wouldn't be recounting the story if we hadn't beaten them that night. After the big win, our class took ahold of the motto. We carried it with us for the entire year. We made sure we had signs with it in all of  our group photos. Mentioned in our commencement speech. But it was because of that moment of inspiration that tonight's acceptance speech meant just a little bit more to me. I felt it. I am inspired. For the first time in too long. I remember this feeling. HOPE. 

And she W...A...L...K...S

Get this party started...

I am a big believer in "equal isn't always fair" when it comes to raising children. Just because one method works for child A doesn't mean it is the best method for child B. Well, there are a few times when this isn't the case. Case in point - the first birthday cake. Since the whole reason we have a first birthday party is to put a cake in front of the baby and stand around and watch them eat it, the cute cake seems to be a pivotal part of the celebration. We decorated B's first birthday cake. After the SEVERAL hour project was complete (John Deer Tractor Cake & sheet cake that looked like a farm), we vowed that we wouldn't be decorating any more (unless we had another child). Enter baby G. So, the birthday party approached and we set out to create another set of themed cakes. We went with the kinder, gentler jungle theme. I worked on the savanna sheet cake while Todd took the Giraffe. Mostly the savanna was dirt brown with cute plastic animals, trees and shrubs. Yes, I took the easy one. Todd is more patient, is more of a perfectionist and just better in the kitchen.  

And the best part was the fact that G was pretty delighted by the whole thing.