Thankful by the week- 4

21-The bus. I'm thankful every single morning as that big yellow bus drives away carrying my talkative vibrant 5 year old away for the next 8 hours. Sure, I miss him but that only lasts until I see the tail lights of the bus disappear over the hill. Then I'm off to enjoy my cup of coffee in the quiet. Or at least the slightly less questioning buzz of 2 year old talk. I didn't think I'd be able to put a 5 year old on the bus. I'd hardly ever been away from him in his 5 year lifespan. I was used to being the first to hear all about his day. But now the bus is his absolute favorite part of the day and some days...it's mine too.

22-The YMCA. When we first moved here, Jason went to visit the YMCA. He took one look at the place and said we couldn't afford it on grad school salary. The place was so nice it had 100 treadmills and a indoor pool. The list of classes they offered was so long that it needed 2 pages AND drum roll...they had childcare! Yeah, we couldn't afford that. P90x for me! Then all my friends were going to the Y. I wanted to go to the Y. I went in one day just to see how out of my price range it was going to be and I was shocked to find out that ANYONE can afford the Y. That's what they are all about. It very well may be the best monthly payment I make. And I use it. Oh, do I use it. That 2 hours of childcare is my substitute preschool for Lincoln and I get my fitness on while he plays with others nicely (or not!). We go swimming when it threatens to snow outside in a pool that rivals a small scale great wolf lodge. I meet my running partner on rainy days or when it's 22 in the mornings and we just cant' stomach an outside run. I still plan to go one day and just sit in the hot tub, alone, while my kids enjoy childcare. Just 2 hours to myself. But I haven't done it yet. Yes, I get my money's worth out of the Y.

23-My smart phone. What did I do without this thing? How did we ever communicate without smart phones text messaging and instant pics? Sure, I might get a lot more done but I wouldn't be nearly as close as I am with many of the people I talk to regularly on text or computer. I keep my calendar, my watch, my alarm on my phone. I keep my grocery list, my blog diary, and a rolling conversation with my sister and mom going on my phone. I can get anywhere using it, I can look up anything in a google second on it. I got this particular phone last year for Christmas and it may be one of the most useful Christmas presents ever. Jason got it for me begrudgingly. He may have known what device he was getting himself into. He was right! And I still love it.

24- Amazon.com Do you remember when they only sold books and other media? It's hard to believe now that you can purchase anything under the sun from them now. And I mean ANYTHING! And who doesn't love their one "click to ship" method. One can go a little crazy with that click to ship button. How weird is it that they never forget what you look at and if you don't purchase it, you'll get an email later saying "Jamie, we've found what you were looking for!" Are they marketing geniuses or what?

25-I could be thankful for just coffee. And I am. But no coffee would be the same without it's creamer. I like most coffee creamer. I should clarify, I like most liquid coffee creamer. I'm not too picky. In fact, at any given moment I probably have at least 4 or 5 different flavors of coffee creamer in my fridge. My personal favorites are chocolate raspberry and peppermint mocha but Jason prefers Caramel Macchiato and Almond Joy. I sometimes wish I was a "take my coffee black" kinda girl but that just doesn't seem to be. This is a harsh statement but I think I'd rather not drink it. I like my khaki coffee. Sweet, creamy, calorie laden, irresistible 3 cups of coffee a day!

26-I might have mentioned that I like sparkle. I like all kinds of sparkly things, that is why I'm so loving my new job as a stylist with Stella & Dot. I love getting to wear all the fantastic jewelry and getting to put together new looks for people is a dream to me! It's been fun to help people get Christmas presents that I know they will LOVE! and I can't wait to wear all of my new pieces at this years holiday parties! I'm thankful for the opportunity to do something else (beside motherhood!) that I absolutely love!