Weekly Gratitude

Yeah it's Friday! As a stay-at-home mom, you would think Friday would be nothing to get excited about anymore. You would be wrong. I was surprised at how much I look forward to Friday.

It's a change from the rest of the week and thankfully a way to tell the weeks apart. I love having family time and spending time with other family and friends. I love to put the chores aside and just be for a couple days. And I love that we always do something special. Then again, sitting around the house doing nothing feels special to me so there isn't a whole lot of expectation for special.

With Friday I am doing Weekly Gratitude. I tend to post silly things that I am thankful for because those are the everyday, little conveniences that make life fun. Not a day goes by that I do not thank God for His love, Stephen and Zoey who make my life so special, all of our family and friends, our health, our home...

The list goes on. I am very blessed and I thank God everyday for what he has allowed me to experience. To add to that, this week I am also especially thankful for...

...Eli. Our new dog has been such a blessing to our home. He is sweet, playful and just makes us smile. 

...homemade forts. This is one Zoey built all by herself. And then she had a great time hiding, jumping and laughing in it. I can't wait for the floor is lava!

...fans. Stephen is such an amazing Daddy. He showed Zoey how to sing into a fan and hear the echo. She loved it! I think it made her night. She would sing into it and then just start laughing. It melted my heart seeing the two of them playing together.

...scissors? I cut my hair and I think it turned out pretty okay. I don't think I'm ready for cosmetology school by any means, but I like it. It is so light and easy. I just got way to hot for my long, thick hair. I took this picture of me today because I liked how my hair fell. I even put a barrette in it, which is really styling for me.

Awesome Blogging Community

I received the Versatile Blogging award again! Thank you so much Nikki at Mommy's Little Monster for the award! It means so much to me that people read and enjoy what I write. I love the little community I am forming with friends and mothers all across the country and even the world! It is so nice to have someone to talk to when you are lonely, to assure you when you have know idea what's going on and someone to look at you and say "Yep, been there, it gets better." So thank you to everyone for making me feel very special!

So Here is How It Works:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award by linking back to them in your post.
2. Tell us 7 things about yourself. (Because I am just THAT interesting) :P
3. Award 15 or 16 recently discovered bloggers.
4. Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news!

Since I've already gotten this award once and have exhausted my 7 things about me I will skip that part. But, I have found some new great friends and blogs that I would like to share this award with! Check them out because it is so much fun talking with others about the everyday!

Always Just a Mom

And for good measure

Burcham Life

Clay In His Hands

Divine Secrets of a Domestic Diva

Henry Happened

I'm Just a Girl

It's a Mom's World

Keeping it Simple

Kreative Karing

Let's Go Insane Together

Mamma Town

Misadventures in Motherhood

MitzyRitzy

Raising Emery

SimplyDrawe

When the Time is Right

*****Updated 6/12/11

I was told I missed the best part so I am adding 7 more things about myself (also in the comments.)
1. I make cupcakes just to eat the batter.
2. I love it when I make people smile.
3. I am secretly proud of my daughter when she colors on the walls, she is very creative.
4. My favorite place to read and write is outside.
5. I often hear the ocean in my dreams.
6. I wrap up in a blanket even when it is extremely hot outside just for the comfort of it.
7. Penguins are my favorite animal and I wish I could be like "Mr. Popper's Penguins."

Three Things Thursday: I Have Learned Recently

I found this cool link-up with Kelly Michelle @ When The Time Is Right called Three Things Thursday. Every Thursday there is a new topic to list three things about. It sound intriguing so I'm going to jump aboard. This week is about three things I have learned recently.

1. I learned recently that you should not take life too seriously. Zoey actually taught me this. To fully understand where I'm coming from you should read my post, Why So Serious? I learned that sometimes you need to cry before you feel better. I learned that laughing is an okay way to relieve stress. And I learned that your kids can really teach you something if you let them. Zoey taught me to relax and not let the little things get the best of me. I also learned that showing your kids that you make mistakes, sometimes choose the wrong action and are actually human yourself can be a good thing. By showing you kids you have faults and teaching them how to apologize you set an example that they can follow when (not if) they make mistakes on their own. [Okay, that was a lot more than three things I learned in #1, but they are all connected so I'm grouping it all together.]

2. I found out, thanks to Stephen, that Newfoundland dogs are amazing swimmers. Our new dog Eli is a Newfoundland mix, which I never even knew existed before we met him, and has this extra toe/skin on the back of his hind legs like webbed feet that allow him to be a strong swimmer. Newfoundlands are also the only dog that doesn't do the doggie paddle, they do the breast stroke. The breed has been used as rescue swimmers and fishing dogs. I can't wait to take Eli to the beach or the lake to see him in action.

3. This is our first year having a real garden. We also have some herb plants. Our cilantro plant grew quickly and even though we harvested it often, it continued to grow and started to flower. We started calling it cilantro trees. But now I know now that this is called bolting. It is actually a defense mechanism for the plant to start making seeds so it can reproduce. It is a natural process for cilantro. It doesn't do well in hot climates so it starts regenerating itself, which looses the flavors in the leaves. I was glad to find this out because I thought I killed it by not taking good enough care of it, turns out, it is natural.

Why So Serious?

I don't know why this particular incident popped into my head, but I suddenly found it hilarious and meaningful. Perhaps you can relate...

The other day I was having a bad day (Go ahead and take a minute to sing the song...). I mean one of those days where you just want to go back to bed and pull the covers over your head and pretend to be anywhere else. I can't even explain it, I was feeling bad and somehow every single little thing was getting on my last nerve.

At this point, it was afternoon. T-minus 75 minutes before Stephen gets home from work and all hell breaks loose. At least in my mind it does. Eli pees on my bag and soaks it and everything in it all the way through (I love the dog, but come on!) And then Zoey has a hissy fit whenever I try to change her diaper. I mean all out screaming like I am hurting her by trying to make sure she butt stays dry. Ahhhhh!!!!

I'm done. I don't even get a new diaper on her. I need a time out. I get up and walk to my room and softly shut the door. I barely get the pillow on my head before Zoey comes banging on the door. (Thankfully she can't just open it yet.) I call to her calmly, "Mommy needs a time out right now, please give me a minute." She pauses like she is contemplating, then BANG BANG BANG! Ahhhhh!!!! I tell her again that Mommy needs a minute. Again with the banging. I tell her this time, "If Mommy can't get a minute, I'm not going to be able to stop myself from yelling."

BANG BANG BANG

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

I open the door and just start yelling (Not my finest moment). Not at Zoey really just nonsense about why does the dog have to pee on everything, why can't you just let me put a diaper on you like a civilized toddler (yeah right) and how I can't get a moment in edgewise to myself...

Is that laughing?

I stop mid ramble to Zoey laughing at me. She is looking at me dead in the eye, butt-naked by the way, with those eyes that shine with a beautiful light and smile going from ear to ear. She was laughing at me. The little punk. I couldn't believe, I was shocked. Because it wasn't a condescending laugh, it was a "Silly Mommy, why are you being so serious" laugh.

And then I cried. Why was I being so serious? Did anything happen that couldn't be cleaned or that didn't happen any other day for that matter. Why was I so affected today? And the answer, I have no idea. But sometimes you just get to your wits end and can't handle anymore. I was there and it took my pint-sized wild child to remind me that life isn't always pretty, sometimes it's just life. And sometimes you just need to laugh.

Birthday Party Planning

Zoey's birthday isn't until August, but I'm already thinking about what to do for her birthday party. I love planning parties, so Zoey's birthday party is a real treat to me each year.

Zoey and I looked through a book with all kind of party ideas. There was ladybugs, monkeys, all kinds of other animals, tea party, trucks, blocks, other characters. The list goes on and on. However, she wasn't interested in any of it until we came to Minnie Mouse. Then she got all excited. She was pointing and bouncing and saying "Mimi Mimi." I smiled then sighed. I even took her to a page where there were about 20 balloons to choose from and she points directly to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse one.

My dilemma comes in that we did Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for her party last year. It was the only thing that she was into so that's what we did. I really wanted to do something different this year, but it looks like it might be the same.

I think for a minute about all of the cute ladybug things I could make or setting up a whole tea party theme. But I'm not going to throw Zoey a party that she cares nothing about. She really loves Mickey, still. So I suppose it's not really a dilemma at all. It looks like we will have a Minnie Party (instead of a Mickey party, so it is a little different.)

On the plus side I already have a Mickey banner and table cloth that I can reuse. And I already have a cake in mind that I can probably make myself. So it will be an adventure. I want to be the kind of mom that makes whatever my kids are into a true adventure. If that is doing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse two years in a row, I'm game.