Wow what a week! This is always one of the busiest weeks of the year for me. We have a birthday, Valentines Day, crafts abound, parties, multiple parties, family dinners and volunteering at school. Not to mention all the regular old life stuff!! Even though it was busy I had a lot to be grateful for. Especially all the LOVE during this week โฅ
Here are 5 4 of my happiest moments: (Oh man…I didn’t get around to writing the 5th. It was a BUSY week to say the least!)
My Tribe
In college it was so easy to make friends. It was like you had an automatic tribe. I had an amazing group of friends. We lived together, played together, and stood beside each other no matter what! Most of those ladies are still in my life today and I am so thankful for them. As time has past we have all ended up in different parts of the country. Now our time together is over text, phone, social media and the occasional visit. Which I always cherish!
I found as I have gotten older that making friends, good friends- not acquaintances, isn’t as easy as it was in college. There were a lot of years where I didn’t have a “group” of girlfriends that lived in the same town as me. I am definitely a group kind of person, so those were not my favorite years. But, I had hope because my sister kept telling me that I would find my people as soon as my kids went to school.
My sister was totally right! I have the most amazing tribe of mom’s around me now that I am so thankful for! They are an amazing outlet when I just need to get out of the house and feel like a human and not a mom for a night. They are a great sounding board when I have a problem of ANY kind! We all support each other, not only as mom’s, but as wives and women. I wouldn’t trade these ladies for anything. (You know who you are)
My tribe of friends feed my soul with friendship in the very best way possible and I am grateful for them EVERYDAY!
My Jam
It’s 9:05 on Monday morning, 20๏พoutside, and we are already running behind. I have 3 layers of clothes on and I’m not totally sure that is going to cut it. As I make my way to the car I am wrangling a 5 year old, juggling his backpack, my computer bag, two reusable grocery bags, my purse, and I have a green smoothie in hand that will be guzzled on the way to school. We finally get buckled in and are ready to start our day. Phew!
As I turn the engine over the radio comes on and the sweet sweet sound of Regulators by Warren G. hits my ears! Ohhhh, I love this song. It comes with the very BEST memories of college days with my dearest friend Casey. I belt out every word, to my son’s dismay. Then…THEN… Snoop Dogg – D. O. Double G, Gin and Juice comes on. Is this real life!? It’s going to be a good day! What a start!
I love how music can change your mood and an instant. We went from the Monday blues with my eyes barely open to best day ever in a matter of 5 minutes.
Today I was thankful for some great tunes to start my day/week on the right note. Not to mention all the awesome memories I have with my college girlfriends that make these songs so wonderful!
My Girl
Did you do this when you were little-
- Daydream about how many kids you would have and then named those made up children! (Hello MASH, if you are a product of the 80’s)
- Decide you and your best friend were going to live next to each other when you were older.
- Pick out the car you would drive, the house you would live in, and the job you would have?
I think these things made up my 3rd and 4th grade life.
Never in my wildest MASH dreams could I have made up my little Maddie. She is the sweetest, kindest, giving little girl! We love her to pieces and feel so lucky she is in our family!
This past week my little lady turned 10. There were not a ton of things on her birthday wish list, especially since her birthday is just a month and a half off from Christmas. However, she made one very specific request- she wanted a candy card. Such a sweet and simple request!
As Maddie turned 10 this past week I am feeling awfully proud and grateful for the little lady she has become!
My Valentine
This Valentines Day has me feeling all the feels and my gratitude journal is a huge part of that. I am not only more aware of my moments of gratitude, I am also trying to create moments that I am grateful for.
For example.. making valentines boxes with the kids. In a normal year I would stress about it and be annoyed that we had to go to 10 different stores to get the supplies. We would then inevitably fight over the box because the kids would want to help but I would want to control the situation so the box turned out perfect. This year was completely different. I took the time to feel present and grateful for the one on one time I got to spend with each kid.
When I took Kyle to Lowes to look at spray paint I actually let him pick out the color his Lego box would be instead of saying here are your two choices. We actually had fun together! Then, this is huge, I let him use the hot glue gun AND spray paint his own box (with supervision of course)! Never in a million years would I have let that happen before. I would have fought him every step and ended up making the box myself and hurting his feelings. This year I let go of my pursuit of perfection and let him do everything. It made him SOOOOOOO happy, it made me happy, and I was actually more relaxed during the whole process. I know he loves his Valentine’s box even more this year because HE made it! (and it turned out great!)
Same with Maddie’s Valentines box- I actually enjoyed the trip to Michaels to get the supplies and then making the box together. I let her cut the Starbucks logo out of the paper we had bought, not caring if the edges were all jaggedy. Normally I would have said “no, let me cut it out so the edges look right!”. But again, I enjoyed the process so much more when I was able to relax and be present with my KID instead of present with the PROJECT. I know that this has everything to do with my need and desire to create moments of gratitude!
This week I was so grateful for the one-on-one time I got to spend with Maddie & Kyle while making their Valentine’s Boxes and being present with THEM and not worrying about the project being perfect.
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