365 Gratitude Project- Week 4

Grateful Week 4

Day 20:

I am grateful for PJ days! With as busy as things get sometimes, PJ, relax, no stress days are just what I need for my introvert personality.

Day 21:

I am so grateful for baby hugs! This cutie will stop whatever he is doing to come over and give me a big hug. SO SWEET!

 

Day 22:

I am grateful for the gym, my personal trainer, learning about lifting, and getting stronger. Although I was hesitant on it all at first, after a couple of friends' good advice, I chose the strength training/personal training route to add to my running. I am still so glad I made that choice (I will say more about this later in the grateful blog I'm sure). I actually didn't take ONE photo this day, so I'm using this photo that my personal trainer took (you can read more about my personal trainer here and his business Finding Fitness LLC).

 

Day 23:

I am grateful for adventure. This little one really teaches me to keep an open mind. 

This is what this car garage was made for right?!

 Day 24:

I am grateful for this child. This already walking, running, climbing, babbling, high-fiving, constantly moving, silly, smiley, lovey baby is now ONE.

He has taught me a new love I didn't know could ever exist. It's different (not more or deeper...just different) than the love I have for his big brother, or my husband, or friends or family.

He's melted my heart in a new incredible way. I've connected with him from the moment I saw him. He makes me smile and cry at the same time. 

I am forever changed with this little boy in my life. 

I am grateful for so much about this child, but my overwhelming feeling on this day is simply this: I am so grateful he is in my life. I am so grateful that he (exactly the way he is) is my son. 

Day 25:

I am grateful for small family celebrations. The birthday boy had a pretty nice fever causing him to be very sad and unsettled, so we had to cancel the party and instead do the cake and celebrations with just our small family. I actually loved this and I wasn't too disappointed at all with the change (other than wanting my baby to feel better). Maybe it's just the introvert part of me, but it feels wonderful to be so content with celebrations with just these few people. I feel good about the realization that I don't need a big party with a ton of decorations and other people to be happy. These wonderful people in my small family are more than enough.

Day 26:

I am grateful for new days and for grace, mercy, and forgiveness when I really blow it in this motherhood stuff. I've been having a hard time being patient with my 4 year old's defiant, button pushing, yet absolutely age appropriate behavior lately. Today we had a couple of pretty bad moments that ended in me yelling....not my proudest moments for sure. Then I took a mommy time out, but the damage was already done. So, today I was reminded of The Orange Rhino blog about a mother who took a challenge to not yell for 365 days. I first found her through 10 Things I Learned When I Stopped Yelling. You can read the whole Orange Rhino blog here. I can relate to a lot of what she says. I need to get back to a place where I am consistently showing respect to my boys by finding more productive ways to talk to them when I'm not so happy with what is happening at the moment. So, today I am grateful for that new day, fresh start, and renewed orange in my life. 

365 Gratitude Project- Week 3

Week 3 Grateful

Day 13:

I am grateful for a few different things in this photo. The story: Bryce decided that his airplane he named "child" was hungry and needed to eat. You see, airplanes aren't just toys, but family members in our house. While I was getting the baby ready, Bryce went to the fridge and grabbed a block of cheese for him. I later found this on the couch. I am grateful for my son's imagination, for the way he wants to take care of other people/things (most of the time), and for these images that I can't help but smile at when I walk by and notice it for the first time. I'm also grateful that we are financially stable enough and live in a time and place where it isn't an issue at all if my son grabs cheese out of the fridge (which did go bad) to feed to his toy airplane. 

 Day 14:

I am grateful for REST DAYS! As much as I love running and keeping a solid workout routine every day, I still fully enjoy rest days to recharge before more workout days. I especially enjoy when a rest day falls on a day like this, when I wouldn't really want to be out running anyway. 

 Day 15:

I am grateful every day that I come home from working out to a sweet 4 year old who says, "How was your workout today Mommy? Are you getting stronger?" (or "How was your run?"). As much as I love that he cares to ask, I am mostly grateful that I can teach him the importance of a lifestyle of staying active, healthy, and disciplined.

Day 16:

No I am not grateful for the piles and piles..and piles of laundry, nor am I grateful for the added time two boys put on this chore. What I am grateful for today is the silliness these boys show in every task, and the images I get to capture; images that may not help in the middle of the chaos and stress now, yet images that will warm my heart many many years from now!

Day 17: 

I am grateful for random fun dance parties with the boys. It seems silly to be grateful for something like that, but this is very important in my life right now, because this moment gave me one simple, yet overwhelming thought: "I am happy". The thing is, this Mommy wasn't always happy and fun ("fun" is still debatable). I struggled so deeply with postpartum depression (and really I still very much struggle off and on with depression and anxiety). There was a time, when Bryce was younger, when I wouldn't do anything close to a dance party with him. I wasn't smiling while listening to music, dancing just to have fun, getting on the floor to play with him often, or showing him how to love the little things in life (because I didn't feel any love for the little things in life at that time). I merely struggled to get through the day in one piece. I can't even describe how dark that time felt. Now, there is this today (and many, MANY days): smiling, laughing, loving, and dancing like crazy to fun songs in the kitchen. Just. For. Fun. Just because we are happy. Mommy is HAPPY.

 Day 18:

I am grateful for the running community. There are only a couple of other times in life I've felt the community connection and support as I have when I became a runner. 

Thousands of people ran today, all over the country, in honor of Meg Menzies. Meg was a wife, a mother of 3 young kids, and an avid runner who lost her life when she was hit by a drunk driver during her morning run (you can read the story here). The running community stood up to support the family by sending their love through running their own miles and posting their thoughts and prayers on multiple social media sites. This makes me feel so connected to the community and proud to be a runner. 

I also went beyond my comfort zone and ran with a group in an organized run today. I haven't experienced that and I am so glad I did it. It was fun, challenging, and again I got to feel that amazing running community connection! (plus those post-run doughnuts were seriously amazing...)

Day 19:

I am grateful for coffee.

In my favorite mug from Batton Clayworks

(I love the simple grateful to end the week after Day 17 and 18 were a bit deeper. It's absolutely important to be grateful for the super little things as well.)

365 Gratitude Project- Week 2

Grateful Week 2

 

 

 

 Day 6: 

I am grateful for the the food mess all over the house (especially for the bananas and strawberries that are permanently stuck to the kitchen wood floors), because this reminds me of the HEALTHY baby who is eating, throwing, and smearing all that healthy food around.

 And speaking of food....

 Day 7:

I am grateful for the new knowledge I've gained this past few months of what eating "healthy" actually looks like. It's been a process of retraining myself and my mindset after 30 years of routine, but I've been learning a lot and seeing positive changes already. Whether I do fully plunge into and remain in a gluten free diet, or just focus on eating clean, I am grateful for the opportunity to make these changes that will benefit both me and my family. (Secondary gratitude today: I am also grateful for good friends who choose the most thoughtful gifts. The bottom two books were gifts I received this Christmas.)

 

Day 8: 

I am grateful for my son's curiosity and willingness to learn new things, as well as the opportunities he has available to do so. There are some really neat toys out there that are perfect for his little analytical, engineer brain.

Day 9:

I am grateful for the daily companionship I have with the kids, even if they make my daily tasks ten times harder. Seriously, it's never a dull moment and I always have somebody around to talk to...even if I'm answered in baby talk...

 Day 10:

I am grateful for a big fun backyard for the boys to run and play. B can play happily outside for hours (even in the snow), while I can still watch him from all the big windows looking out over the yard. (I am also grateful for Friday, because Friday is the day we don't have to do ANYTHING. We can just hang around the house in PJ's, relax, play inside or outside, and just enjoy our time together! I think everybody needs downtime days at least once in awhile!)

Day 11:

I am grateful that the boys have an amazing father who is fully involved in their lives. They have a wonderful role model and a father who loves them beyond belief and who tells them that every day! (This picture of N hanging out in Daddy's jacket is just so cute!)

Day 12:

To end this week, I am grateful for the ability and the energy to run, workout, and remain strong and healthy (I'm sure running will hit this grateful project a few times throughout this year). This was a good fitness week with a workout each day and a total running mileage of 22 miles. Sometimes when I think everything else in life is tough, I can look at the simple fact that my strong body (and mind) can take me through a nice 10+ mile run when I used to never think that would be a possibility.

365 Gratitude Project- Week 1

Recently a friend sent me a video of a woman who decided to start a project called 365 Grateful. In this project she took the time each day to find something she was grateful for, took a photo of it, and started to see all the good and happiness around her every day. You can watch her video here.

I have set this blog aside (which I started with intentions of using it as a photo blog) for awhile now. This is a great thing to start at the beginning of this new year to bring the blog back out. Considering I take far too many photos on my phone, this shouldn't be a hard project to do. I will try to practice better photography in the process, but this first week was put together after the photos were already taken, and this is just the beginning. :)

Here is the first week of my 365 Gratitude Project:

Day 1:

I am grateful for my son's independence and confidence. My oldest son has turned into an amazing, independent, helpful child. On New Years Day he helped by vacuuming the whole house. (It makes me feel so proud of him, and I'm not going to lie, it also makes my daily life a bit easier).

Day 2:

I am so grateful for the opportunity to stay home with these boys. I don't have to miss a moment with them, and THIS can be a part of my day….EVERY DAY!

Day 3:

I am grateful for pinterest, considering I can't come up with these super cute ideas for my 1 year old's birthday party on my own! You can find this Hungry Caterpillar invitation idea and free printable here. I love how these invitations turned out. (I'm also a bit grateful for the opportunity to be able to make such cute things for my kids birthday parties. I can only do these cute things for soooo long before they won't care for them anymore….)

Day 4:

I am grateful for friends who love my kids dearly. I am honestly not sure what I would do without those people in my life who love and support both me and my family. 

Day 5:

I am grateful for the snow. I love the snow and cold season: pure sparkling beauty of the snow blanketing the ground (especially the first thing in the morning before any tracks are made), warm sweaters,  and cuddles under blankets by a fireplace. I feel at peace watching the snowflakes fall.