I Am Thankful For...Thumbs and Hairdressers

They're related. I swear.

Ever since Chase was a baby, he has sucked his thumb. I happen to think it's pretty darn cute. And even cuter is how he twirls his hair with one hand while he's sucking his thumb with the other.

And the cutest yet is when he twirls someone else's hair while he sucks his thumb. He only does this when he's sleepy or cuddling. But since I am frequently the one putting him to bed, snuggling with him or holding him, my hair gets twirled a lot. Thankfully I have a great hairdresser who manages to save my hair from complete death by twirling.

So days 26 and 27 I am thankful for thumbs and hairdressers, so that I can enjoy every second of this:

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Am Thankful For...Friendsgivingmas

Friendsgivingmas is the annual tradition that we began with several of our friends a few years ago, even before kids were in the picture for any of us.

Thanksgiving seems to be the one weekend a year where most of us are in the same area, and we take advantage of that by getting together for a big Thanksgiving/Christmas get together. It's always a great time, filled with lots of fun, food, laughter and reminiscing. While it's usually the same crowd from year to year, the growing kids make each year it's own unique gathering.

It's friends. It's Thanksgiving. It's Christmas. All in one night! What could be better?!

This year's highlights included Alec spilling soda all over the floor, Alec looking up a friend's skirt, and Alec laying on top of this same friend claiming he was "tickling" her. Maybe instead of being thankful for Friendsgivingmas, I should be thankful for the innocence of young children. And for cameras so that we can capture these events on film for future blackmailing purposes.

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Am Thankful For...Musical Christmas Toys

Remember my post about Musical Card Land? Well, if my boys get that excited over musical greeting cards, just imagine the sheer delight they experienced when the musical Christmas toys made their appearance today.

All in all I think we probably have enough of these things to open up our own musical Christmas toy store. But that's ok because the boys absolutely love them, and they spent hours today just playing them over and over and over and over.

Sure my ears are tired of hearing the barking dogs version of "Jingle Bells" and Elmo's version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." And you should hear it when they're all going at the same time. But it's a welcome change from the normal yelling and fighting that typically goes on. I'm sure I won't feel that way in a few days, but for now I'll take it.

So today I am thankful for musical Christmas toys, for helping parents finish holiday decorating by keeping kids entertained, one jingle bark at a time.

May I present to you...hours of entertainment for young children: Two Elmos, a bear that reads "The Night Before Christmas," a singing snowman and dog, kissing dogs with tails that jingle, a dog that sings "Jingle Bells," a spinning Christmas tree that plays "O Christmas Tree," and a partridge in a pear tree (ok, there's not really a partridge, but it seemed appropriate)

 *In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Am Thankful For...Garden Hoses

Over the past almost five years, Alec has become very close with a walrus stuffed animal. Early on, we named him Dozer. Alec and Dozer have gone on many adventures together, and Dozer sleeps in Alec's bed every night.

A few months ago there was a big kid's consignment sale in our area. Chad stayed home with the boys while I went to power shop for a year's worth of clothing for two boys in three hours. As I was browsing the racks of snowsuits, my phone rang. I saw that it was Chad and immediately began to worry. He knew that I was a woman on a mission, so I knew he wasn't just calling to say hi or ask me what the kids had for lunch.

When I answered, Chad asked me if I had seen Dozer. I said I had not. I knew Alec had him outside earlier, but I didn't see where he had ended up. Chad proceeded to tell me that Alec said that Dozer was on the back bumper of my car. The car that I had driven to the consignment sale. Alec is usually pretty accurate with these statements, so I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Chad agreed that they would keep an eye out for him and text me if he was found. Every five minutes I checked my phone to see if Chad had texted me. When I got in my car to leave, I still didn't have a text from Chad, so I called him. Dozer hadn't been found. They had even gone on a walk to see if Dozer had fallen off the car somewhere, but there was no sign of Dozer.

I felt like the worst mother ever for dragging my son's favorite stuffed animal onto the highways of Pennsylvania, where I was sure he had fallen into a ditch somewhere, never to be seen again. I drove all the way home about 15 miles under the speed limit so that I could keep an eye out for him on the road in the hopes that maybe I would spot him. I'm sure the people behind me loved that.

The whole way home I fought the tears back. I clung to the hope that Chad had found Dozer somewhere at home, and Chad was clinging to the hope that I found Dozer on my way back. Sadly neither of these things happened.

Once inside the house I started coming to terms with the realization that Dozer was gone. Then the tears came. Now those who know me know that I don't cry easily. I cry if an animal gets hurt on TV, but that's about it. I'm usually a rock. It's actually kind of disturbing sometimes. But some motherly hormone in me took over my body and I just couldn't stop the tears. I had turned my son's favorite stuffed animal into roadkill.

Chad, being the incredible husband he is, was getting ready to go out at 10 o'clock at night and drive around looking for a stuffed walrus. He really is a great husband and dad. For whatever reason, he decided to walk around outside the house one more time before he left. And I couldn't be happier that he did, because a few minutes later I saw him walking past a window, flashlight in one hand and Dozer in the other.

It turns out Dozer had been hanging out on the garden hose. Alec must have set him there before running off to play with something else.

I seriously couldn't have been happier. I don't know if I was even this happy on my wedding day. Ok, I'm sure I was, but this was a close second.

The next morning, I told Alec where we had found Dozer. His response? "Oh yeah, I guess I did put him there."

So today I am thankful for garden hoses. Because if we didn't have a garden hose, then Dozer probably would have sat back down on the bumper of my car. And I'd probably still be sobbing today, instead of taking this photo:

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Am Thankful For...The Real Stuff

I wouldn't feel right about this blog challenge if I didn't list the things in my life that I am truly thankful for. And Day 22, Thanksgiving Day, seems to be the most appropriate day to do this. So all sarcasm aside, here goes...

My family. All of them. My boys, my husband, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my step-parents, my uncles, my step and half brother, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins, and yes I even have pretty awesome in-laws too.

My friends. The real kind of friends, not the ones from days 16-21. The ones from high school. The ones from college. The ones I've met through my boys. The ones who get me through tough times, listen to me complain about things, hang out on girls nights until the wee hours of the morning, lend a hand without thinking twice. You all know who you are.

The means to put a roof over our head, food on the table, a car in the driveway and still have a little bit to spend on ourselves and others.

A husband who works hard so that I can stay home and raise our children. Who does more than his fair share around the house. Who supports my decisions, no matter how crazy they may seem. Who never judges me when he comes home from work to find piles of laundry, dirty dishes, dusty cabinets, dog hair filled carpets, and me and the kids still in our PJs. Who reads my blog posts if I ask him to, even if it's the last thing he feels like doing. Who (usually) holds back his comments on my nine cartons of ice cream in the freezer.

Health. My health, my husband's health, my parents' health, my boys' health. Sure we all get sick and have our own minor issues. But for the most part my family has been blessed with really awesome health and immune systems.

NICU staff. I've already dedicated an entire post to this one, but I still feel the need to bring it up again. They are the ones who saved my baby's life, and they can't be thanked enough.

My appreciation of music, especially live musical theater. It's a part of who I am, and I am so thankful to have found a joy in life that I am truly passionate about and that just lives in my bones.

Teachers. Especially the ones who have been in my boys' lives so far. They certainly have patience that I don't have.

You. Yes, that's right. I am thankful for the people who read my blog. I started this blog as a way to share my parenting stories and experiences with my close friends and family, but it has grown into much more. I am very thankful to have followers, whether you just started following or have been following since my first post. It makes the time I spend blogging so much more rewarding.

I could go on and on, but I think I've covered the basics. I know there are millions of more things that I am thankful for, and I'm really hoping I'm not leaving something obvious out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Am Thankful For...My Six Best 'Friends'

No, I'm not talking about my really good friends who get me through the tough times and who listen to me whine, brag, complain, cry and yell about my kids (although I'm very thankful for them too!).

I'm talking about my other six best friends. The six friends who I have spent numerous hours with. Every Thursday night for ten years they entertained me with their humorous stories. In fact, you might even be familiar with them. Their names are Phoebe, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Monica and Joey.

That's right. My 'Friends' have been a huge source of stress relief and humor for me. I own all ten seasons of the show, and I can always count on them to give me some good laughs.

In case you don't know them, allow me to introduce you:

Rachel

Ross

Monica

Chandler

Phoebe

And of course, Joey

So for six days I will be thankful for one 'Friend' each day. Because no one told me life was gonna be this way. Because my mother warned me there'd be days like these. For being there for me when the rain starts to pour. For being there for me because they've been there before. And now for getting their catchy theme song stuck in my head.

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Am Thankful For...Aunt Suzie

I'm pretty sure it's common for kids to have imaginary friends. I remember having one as a kid. Her name was Cindy.

But Alec has taken a different approach to the imaginary friend. A few months ago, he informed me that he has 100 little kids. So for the past few months I have been listening to stories about his 100 little kids.

I haven't learned all of their names yet, but two of them are "Silly" and "Watermelon." One of them is also named "Mommy," which gets kind of confusing when Alec is talking to her. (Alec: "Mommy?" Me: "Yes, Alec?" Alec: "NO, I wasn't talking to you. I'm talking to my little kids!") Oh boy.

But last night at bedtime, I learned that we have some new additions to the family. In addition to Alec's 100 little kids, we now have a zillion elves in our house. This house is starting to get pretty full.

Alec told me that his favorite elf is "Aunt Suzie" because she puts blueberries on her nose. He also wanted her to sleep with him last night.

I'm not sure whether these elves are permanent additions to our family, or whether they're just here for the holiday season. Either way, today I will be thankful for Aunt Suzie for putting blueberries on her nose and for keeping Alec's creativity flowing.

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.