365 Gratitude Project- Week 9

Day 55:

I am grateful for the super nice weather breaks in the middle of the winter so the kids can play outside. (and for the cuteness of little baby shoes over footsy PJs. The things we put on our kids...)

Day 56:

I am grateful for another day to be alive. I know, I know, that's pretty general, but my 4 year old woke up in an incredible mood this morning and said while drinking his morning milk, "Hey Mommy, I am just happy to be alive.", followed by a deep breath and an adorable, content kind of smile.  Yep, son, me too.

Day 57:

I am grateful for organization. Even if it takes a good amount of work in the beginning to get things organized (and with crazy kids, it rarely stays organized), it's all worth it and makes me feel so much less stressed. I finally took the time to clean the pantry, partly so things wouldn't continue to fall out every time I opened it. I cleaned out all of the gluten (except a couple things for the kids), threw away all of the expired things, and then tackled the fridge in the same way (even making the space to organize and store all of those different flours for baking now). I feel so much better now that it's done.

Day 58:

I am grateful that we don't have mice...
because if we had even one, it would never leave with the amount of crumbs this house has on the floor pretty much all of the time...

Day 59:

I am grateful that I found a really yummy gluten free pizza crust recipe. It's easy, it works, and tastes awesome. I am so grateful for that because I love pizza and really didn't want to give that one up completely. (I am also supposed to give up tomatoes because they came up as "moderately reactive" in my food sensitivity test. I hardly ever have them now, but again....pizza. Hopefully a little tomatoes here and there won't make my head hurt.)

This plate is my favorite handmade pottery from Batton Clayworks.

Day 60:

I am grateful for the beauty found in nature. It snowed this morning and we couldn't help but stare at all of the pretty, perfectly formed snowflakes sticking to the window. I LOVE when it snows like this, and I am always fascinated watching these picture perfect snowflakes falling, sticking to the windows, and staying for awhile before melting. It was so peaceful and so beautiful. There are far too many metaphors or connections that can be made between unique snowflakes and something in life, but I won't go there, because this time I am truly just grateful for the beauty of them.

Day 61:

I admit, I do complain quite a bit about not getting any "alone time". Seriously, most days I rarely get to go to the bathroom on my own. (read this Scary Mommy blog post, 25 Ways You Know You're a Stay At Home Mom, for a laugh. I actually related to most of them, but #13 and #23 on that list describe the part about being alone in the bathroom.)

BUT, today I feel very grateful that I have this little face (and also his brother's little face) to be constantly watching everything I do, because their little eyes on me are helping me to be a better person on a daily basis.