Give Thanks

I want to get back in the habit of keeping a gratitude journal.  I find that it really does help with my attitude toward things.  I mean, it's not like I have a bad attitude toward things.  I just think it's a good exercise for being more mindful in general.

In the past I've kept a separate gratitude journal, but I thought it might simplify things to just keep it going in my planner.  I made up these little stickers to help me in this endeavor:

I just printed them out on sticker paper/full sheet labels and I'll be sticking one on each day in my planner so that I can jot down at least one thing each day for which I am thankful.  You can download your own pdf of this file by visiting my Facebook page.  As always, these are for personal use only.  Please do not reproduce them for sale.  Also please do not pin to Pinterest from anywhere except this blog post.

Thanks and enjoy!

Thankful Thursday - Today I Am Thankful

What an appropriate day of the week for the beginning of November!  For today's Thankful Thursday I'm doing something a little different.  I came across this idea on eighteen25 and thought it was pretty cool.  Did you know that Blurb will take your Instagram pictures and make them into a book?  I've done that before with my blog posts (they call it "slurping," yum) and it's actually pretty easy.  

Well, the ladies on eighteen25 had the idea to take a photo every day in November of something of which you're thankful using Instagram.  Then, at the end of the month you can use Blurb's software to "slurp" those photos and print them in a book!  They even provided this cute artwork for the cover:

You can visit their website to download the un-Instagrammed version.

I haven't decided if I'm going to use Blurb or if I'll just print out my photos the way I did for my poor neglected Project Life album.  Even if I end up doing nothing with the photos, I still think it's an awesome exercise in gratitude and actively choosing to be positive about life.

And no, no one at eighteen25 or Blurb asked me to post about this.  I'm sure they don't even know I exist.  :)

Looking for quotes and/or printables to use for this?  Check out my Gratitude Project posts from last year.

Thankful Thursday - October 25, 2012

This week I'm thankful for milk - or more specifically, the ability to make milk.  I know that for whatever reason, a lot of women aren't able to breastfeed.  I also know that a lot of women aren't able to get enough milk to feed their baby when they pump.  I'm lucky that I'm able to pump and get good volume for my baby, because my skin is simply too sensitive for her to get it from the source.  Where many would have just given up, I decided to pump my milk.

Honestly, it was mostly because I hate the way formula smells and also because I am cheap.  Formula costs a FORTUNE!  The fact that breast milk is the most awesome thing for babies is just a happy bonus.  :)

I'm thankful that not only am I able to make milk, and able to get a good amount with my pump, but that I get ample amounts.  Let me describe to you how my "breast fed" child gets fed, shall I?

First I pump the milk.  Next, I pour it into these little 2 oz plastic containers and put it in the fridge.  When the milk gets cold, the fat separates in the bottle.  It's kind of like when you refrigerate soup; the fat rises to the top and thickens. The more fat in my diet, the thicker the layer of fat on the top of my bottles. When it's time to feed the baby, we take a teeny spoon and carefully scoop the fat from the top of the plastic container and into the baby's bottle.  (Yes, it's totally as gross as it sounds.  The fat is the consistency of yogurt.)  We then use a medicine syringe to take only the top, fattiest part of the milk from the plastic container and add that to the bottle as well. The thinnest part of the milk at the bottom half gets poured down the drain.

That's right - to make a five ounce bottle for the baby to drink, I need to pour about five ounces of pumped milk down the drain.  This is at every feeding.  I'll let that sink in for a moment.  If you've ever pumped milk, you'll know how hard that is to do!

So not only am I able to pump enough milk for the baby to drink, I'm able to pump an equal amount that gets poured down the drain, and I have enough.  If I didn't, she wouldn't be getting those extra calories that she needs since she's STILL not gaining weight as fast as the pediatrician would like.

Also, in addition to the milk she drinks and the milk down the drain, this is what the stash in my freezer looks like:

There are ten 7oz bags of milk in each gallon Ziplock, and they're piled two deep in there.  That's approximately 1050 ounces of milk you're looking at here.  This is not counting the bags in the house freezer.  I keep them there until I have ten then they're moved into the deep freeze in the garage.  I've only been pumping for four months.

Even more amazing?  I've donated 980 ounces of milk so far this month alone.  Since the baby's been born, I've donated almost 1700 ounces total.  I'm thankful that I am able to share this gift with others who have adopted but still want to feed their child breast milk, or who are unable to make enough milk on their own for whatever reason.  I love knowing that I'm able to do something good for these babies, even if I don't know them personally.

Wanna see something crazy?

The Monday morning I set a new personal best - 20 and 3/4 ounces in one sitting!  I don't get up at night to pump so the first one of the day is usually the biggest in terms of volume, but usually it's only about 15 or 16 ounces total.  We had pediatrician visits for both kids that morning and my pediatrician was shocked when I told her.  The expression on her face was priceless.

So yeah, while it does kinda stink to have to hook myself up to a machine four times a day, and to have to wear absorbent pads in my tops, and to not be able to wear a real bra with an actual supportive underwire, in the end?  Totally worth it.  After all, this is only for a season. 

Moo.

Thankful Thursday - 10.11.12

Ten Eleven Twelve... how cool is that?

This week, my thankfulness kind of has a theme.

Bubba likes to watch YouTube videos.  As anyone who has spent time on that site knows, every video has related videos in a sidebar.  Once you start clicking on those, it's easy to fall down the YouTube Rabbit Hole, so to speak.  You never know where you're going to end up!

Well, the weekend before last Bubba ended up in The Littlest Pet Shop, and he fell in love.  It really doesn't surprise me at all because this kid has always had a soft spot for the kitty cats and let's face it - most of those "pets" look like kitty cats anyway, right? My boy was hooked.

It had to have been about a year ago that we got this Littlest Pet Shop toy by accident in a Happy Meal.  It's been floating around in the bins of random toys around here, but he never really paid much attention to it.  I actually had meant to go through the toys and send a bunch of them to the Goodwill, but due to my slacker-iness in pregnancy I never got around to it.

I'm thankful that I didn't, because if I had, this for sure would have been gone.

As it was, he remembered that he had it (the stuff a three year old's mind can recall is amazing) and dug around until he found it.  It replaced a car as his constant companion for several days in a row.  One day I noticed him playing with the little dog, acting out a little scene from one of his videos.  In the role of the second pet?

A piece of orange plastic.  I felt equal parts proud of his imaginative play and sorry for him to have to use a piece of plastic cut from a tiny traffic cone (I made it into the Cozy Cone Hotel for Lightning McQueen) as a second toy.  Soooo...

On my next trip to the Walmarts I checked out their whopping selection of FIVE pets and selected a kitty cat to keep his Happy Meal dog company.  His mom's a sucker!  He named them Rose (the cat) and Alicia (the dog) and they watched many videos and went on many adventures together in a die cast Shelby Cobra, Thelma and Louise style.  Okay, minus the cliff at the end, but you know what I mean.

I'm thankful that my husband isn't one of those guys who will freak out because I'm buying our son "girl" toys.

Then, last weekend when Aunt April was here, he needed to show her the other pets on a trip to Target.  One mama's soft spot later, and a two pack with a Lion and a Bunny was on the way home with us.

SUCKER.

I'm thankful that my husband's relatives don't judge me for buying my son "girl" toys either.  :)

He likes to show his new toys to his sister and encourages her to share them.  I think it's pretty easy for him at this point because she hasn't really mastered grabbing stuff yet and if he gets tired of her paying attention to his toys it's easy to just grab them all and go into the other room.

I'm thankful that he loves his little sister, and loves to share with her and to make her laugh.

So today my husband was telecommuting so I took Bubba with me to go on a donut run... yeah.  A donut run that turned into an almost three hour trip!  HA!

I'm thankful that my husband can telecommute two days a week, which means he is home with us more days than not.

I'm thankful that when he is telecommuting he is okay with me occasionally leaving a child with him so I can go out and run errands with only one little person in tow.

I'm thankful that he doesn't flip out when I say I'm going to get donuts, then decide on a whim to pop into the Dollar General because I heard they had Littlest Pet Shop toys there pretty cheap, and then decide to hit a couple of Goodwill's too.  I figured that since I had planned on sending Bubba's old Happy Meal toys there, maybe some other people had too.

I'm thankful for the Goodwill, and people who donate to the Goodwill, because now Bubba's menagerie has almost doubled and I've been entertained all night by him playing with his pets.  He comes up with some pretty funny story lines!  Talk about a dollar well spent.

The way I see it, they're great for imaginative play, they're a nice break from the Hot Wheels that have dominated his play for the past two years, and when he gets tired of them, odds are good his sister will gain interest in them.

Oh, and I'm thankful for Dunkin' Donuts.  YUM.

Thankful Thursday - September 27, 2012

I haven't done one of these for a few months, so some of these are a little bit old.  Still, I'm thankful for them so I'm putting them here.

I'm thankful for these ladies for putting together the Pinterest party.  I got to meet new people and found a bunch of fun new blogs to read!

I'm thankful for friends.

I'm thankful for friends who have kids almost exactly the same age as our kids so we can compare notes.

I'm thankful that I don't have one of those husbands who freaks out if their son does "girl" things.

I'm thankful that breast pumps have evolved past this.  This thing is solid metal, weighs a ton, and rumor has it, will suck out your soul if you're not careful.

I'm thankful for stylish, generous blog friends.

I'm thankful for Pinterest.

I'm thankful for Fall, even if it is still over 100 degrees and will be for almost another month where I live.

I'm thankful for Hello Kitty.

I'm thankful that my husband doesn't complain when I buy kid clothes that won't fit for another few years to stash for later.

I can't decide if I'm thankful or not that Old Navy did not have one in my size.  (Yes, I even checked online) 35 year old women should probably not be rocking Hello Kitty tee shirts.

I'm thankful for fun Fall magazines.

I'm thankful for free magazine subscriptions!  That's right; I didn't pay a single penny for any of these.

I'm thankful for tiaras.

I'm thankful for rhinestones and cubic zirconias.  Sparkly things are cool, diamonds are not.

I'm thankful for smiley babies.

I'm thankful that my children like each other so far.  :)

I'm thankful that my husband noticed this so I could take a picture!

I'm thankful for delightful surprises.

I'm thankful Apple made the camera on the iPhone accessible from the lock screen, or else I would never have had time to get this shot.

I'm thankful that my husband doesn't mind too much that I insist upon composting.

I'm thankful that I am not having problems with my compost.  I keep hearing people say "it didn't work" for them.  Huh?  You just throw stuff in a heap and water/turn it occasionally.  Piece of cake.

I'm thankful for pretty little girls in yellow seersucker dresses.

I'm thankful that this child's belly button FINALLY healed.  Two months was too long.

On that note, I'm thankful that my belly button went back after I had the baby.  I was totally freaked out that it wouldn't!

I'm thankful that my landlord replaced our old, chipped enamel sink with a new, stainless steel one that is nice and deep.

I'm thankful that he went ahead and replaced the faucets too.  We have a retractable sprayer now!  It makes rinsing out the sink and watering plants so much easier.

I am thankful that I finally found a stupid pot for that plant.  It should not have been that flipping hard!

That's it for now, I think.  I'm linking this post to Domestic Fashionista's Thankfulness Thursdays link party.

Thankful Thursday - Week Three

Third week and I'm already late.  Sheesh.  I guess it's okay because now I can call this

The Birthday Edition!

That's right - I'm 35 years old today.  Somehow 35 seems more significant to me than 30 did.  I wasn't one of those women who freaked out about it.  It was just another birthday, no biggie.  However, the thing that's getting me on this one is the checkbox thing.  You know how when you take a survey or fill out forms and they want you to check a box for your age range?  It's always 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, etc.  I'M MOVING UP A CHECKBOX Y'ALL.  That is what is freaking me out.

You know, I blame my husband for this.  I was young when I met him.  I caught "teh old" from him through osmosis.  I'm sure of it.

Either way, the first thing of course for which I'm thankful is that I'm here to celebrate another birthday!

I'm thankful for fresh baked bread.  I haven't made bread in so long, but this week I whipped up a few loaves.

I'm also thankful for butter.  Mmm... butter.

I'm thankful for fun apps on my phone so I can keep myself busy messing with photos while I'm holding a sleeping baby and can't do much else.  How cute is this BubbleFrame app?

I'm thankful for  my iPhone.  I'm lucky to be able to own this fun and USEFUL piece of technology.  Never would I have imagined that a phone of all things could be useful for so much.  I make grocery lists, I keep track of appointments, I have access to my email, I can tap for instant access to craft store coupons, it's a flashlight, it's a white noise machine, it's a way to take and edit photos, it's a way to keep up with old friends and make new ones, it's movies, games, and tv shows, it's a learning tool, it's a reference tool, it's an inspiration tool, it's a weatherman, it keeps me from getting lost and helps me find things - oh yeah, and it's a phone too.  FREAKING AWESOME.

I'm thankful for leopard print, rhinestones/glitter/all things sparkly, and the color pink.

I'm thankful for friends who will come over when I'm housebound for play dates.  The measure of how good a play date was, to me anyway, is how soon after your kid passes out from exhaustion and how long they sleep.  This was a good one!

I'm thankful for friends who come over bearing crafty gifts and show me how to make new things.  These are teeny hair barrettes for the baby.

I'm thankful for RAIN!!!  Last night at about 1 am (so technically this morning I guess) it started to pour.  It's like the stupid desert decided to give me an awesome birthday present.

That wagon filled up in just a few minutes.

 I'm thankful for the cooler weather that the rain brought along with it.  It's been between 110 and 115 degrees pretty consistently the past couple of weeks.  I was actually able to let Bubba play outside in his sandbox for a little while this afternoon!

I'm thankful for my husband who will use his lunch break to bring me lunch.

I'm thankful that my boy loves his sister, even when she's being a grouch.

I'm thankful for my sling, so I can do things like post on my blog and wash bottles when some baby is being a grouch and wants to be held OR ELSE.  Especially when someone who shall remain nameless requests a cup of chocolate "baby milk" and then spills half of it all over the rug so I have to clean it.  Grr.

I know there is more, but that's what I'm getting off the top of my head right now.  I'm linking this post to Domestic Fashionista's Thankfulness Thursday link up.

Thankful Thursday - Week Two

How is it Thursday again already?  In my head, I keep thinking it's Monday or something.  The weeks are just flying past me these days, and every time I think I may be catching up to them I look up only to find yet another has gone by.  What's that about?

Still, there is plenty for which to be thankful.  For starters - my iPhone, without which I would be drawing more of a blank right now on what to write about!  I love being able to scroll through the photos I took this week to give me ideas.

* I am thankful that even though this was the state of our fridge last Friday, it wasn't because we couldn't afford to fill it, but rather, that we've been so busy adjusting to this current season of  our lives we just haven't had a chance to fill it.

* I am also thankful that we are cool enough to have five different kinds of cheese (Amish swiss, gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano, and two types of sharp cheddar) even though we had pretty much nothing else in there.  Kick butt.

* I am thankful that all my gray hairs are pretty much growing in one spot.  So organized!  HA!

*I'm also thankful that I'm okay with gray hair. I don't have to spend a small fortune getting it colored every six weeks.  I don't freak out every time I find a new gray hair.  I like the way the white hairs contrast against my dark brown hair.  I think it's kind of pretty.

* I am thankful for avocadoes, steak, and grilled zucchini.

*I am thankful that we were able to rejoin Costco again this week.  I love Costco, and the new self scan things are so cool!  Fastest Costco checkout EVER and so easy to use, a three year old can handle it.  I seriously do not understand why everyone wasn't using one.  There were people actually standing in line to check out while we just breezed by into special lines with no waiting.  The whole thing took less than two minutes, I swear.  So awesome.

*I am thankful for brownies.

* I am thankful that I have the ability to multitask LIKE A BOSS.  Here I am rocking the baby, eating an ice cream cone, watching television, and checking Facebook simultaneously.  My husband took this picture because he was so amused by how much I was doing while still sitting on my butt.

*I am thankful for my cool ass kids.

*I am thankful that the pediatrician gave me a sample canister of formula so I wouldn't have to go buy one.  That stuff ain't cheap, yo.  I have to mix it in to Kelly's bottles of pumped breast milk for the next week to make it more caloric because she's not eating enough.  That's right - there are concerns about my ELEVEN AND A HALF POUND six week old not weighing enough!  Say what?  I mean, look at this kid!

Apparently only being one pound over your birth weight after six weeks is a problem regardless of your birth weight.  BOO.  She's gaining weight, and is in the 90th - 95th percentile for weight actually, but she's just not gaining as much as they'd like.

*I am thankful that my husband is willing to go with me to the ribbon store to cheer me up.  Oh, and Hobby Lobby too.  :)

* I am thankful that we HAVE a kick butt ribbon store here locally, and that they have the good, soft elastic for making headbands.  I really really really hate shopping online.

*I am thankful that I have a craft room.  I don't use it much these days, but I know I am lucky to have it, especially in a house this small.

*I am thankful for PBS kids online.  If I need the boy to be entertained while I do something else, this site will come through for me and I don't have to worry about ads and crap like Goth Dora or Curious George Gets High like on YouTube.  He plays age appropriate games, watches preschooler-friendly videos, and actually learns stuff, all for free!  Since he gets on there so rarely, it's a real treat for him and practically guarantees he'll be busy for a while.

*I am thankful for my playgroup.  Although I don't get to many play dates anymore due to everyone else having normal toddler schedules and my kid sleeping until 11:00 am most days, I still value having them available on Facebook and getting to connect during birthday parties.  I got quite a few baby things from some people in the group before Kelly was born, including this onesie.  I remember loving it on my friend's daughter when Bubba was a baby, and now here my new baby is wearing it three years later.  Pretty dang cool.

I am linking this post to Domestic Fashionista's Thankfulness Thursdays.

Thankful Thursday - Week One

When I saw that Ashley at Domestic Fashionista was starting a new link party devoted to gratitude, I immediately thought it would be a good idea to participate.  I've long been a believer that the more you express gratitude, the happier you'll be.  Why should being thankful be confined to the month of November, anyway?  So, I'll be joining her (or trying to - I don't seem to be sticking to much lately!) from now until Thanksgiving with:

In no particular order...

*I'm thankful for a house with a big, safe back yard where I can send the boy out to play and not have to worry about him.

*I am thankful for a landlord who provided us with a lawnmower so we wouldn't have to go out and buy one.  Those things aren't cheap!

*I'm thankful that I am not only able to make enough milk to feed my own child, but that I'm making enough to feed another baby as well.  That's right - I started donating milk again this week!  I did the math last night and I'm averaging 60 ounces a day.  The baby needs about 28 a day, so the rest is split between storage for later and donation.

*I am thankful for health insurance.  Sure, we still have a few thousand dollars (UGH) in medical bills, but it could be much worse.

* I am thankful that we got totally lucky with an awesome pediatrician.  Seriously y'all - I just picked one that was on our insurance list close to our house when Bubba was born.  I did a Google search to be sure people didn't hate her that took all of ten minutes and that was it.  I had no reservations about taking my second child to her as well as my first.

*I am thankful that this girl can be carried in the sling now!  We took her out in it last weekend twice and she slept both times, as well as the two times I carried her around the house in it.

* I am thankful that the pregnancy weight has come off.  Now, to lose the belly and some of the pre-existing weight!

*I am thankful that I know how to make pretty things, so I can dress up the baby without breaking the bank.  It's ridiculous what they charge for some of this stuff.  Seriously - I saw a hair clip that was just a small, cheap flower hot glued to a barrette that was $5.95.  HUH?  Those barrettes are like twelve cents each!

*I am thankful for hand lotion.  This goober got his middle finger (seriously?) stuck in a wooden train track but good the other day.  Loads of hand lotion and some patience, and he was set free.  Let's hope he doesn't do it again!

*I am thankful that the boy isn't really cross eyed.  I don't know why it looks like it in this photo.

* I'm thankful for my family.  I am thankful that my husband isn't one of those loser dads who refuses to change diapers (WHA???) or acts all incompetent like he can't be left with the baby for longer than ten minutes.

*I'm thankful for telecommuting days!  WOO HOO!  I get to sleep in on those days, and everyone knows a well rested new mom is a HAPPY new mom.

*I'm thankful for my funny little boy.  He is silly, he is smart, and he is so, so sweet.

*I am so very thankful for this little girl.  I prayed for this child for so long, and I am so very thankful that the Lord granted her to us.  My friend Lindsay sent me a link to this song earlier today.  WOO BOY HOWDY I was not ready for that!  Let me preface this by telling you that I am not a super emotional girl - I'm not into "romance" and I definitely DON'T cry at movies or over commercials.  That's just not me.

HOWEVER - this got me.  Oh how this got me!  Especially the last verse:

All we are, you are 
And who we'll be, you'll be 
Love and hurt, doubt and trust 
Welcome to being one of us

Dang, y'all.  I was NOT prepared how emotional I'd be over this little girl!  I mean, I've loved my boy with all my heart, but there's something about a baby girl that has been different somehow.  I can't even begin to explain it.  SO...

*I'm thankful that I'm experiencing new things, even after all this time, and that I'm still not done learning.