Thankful by the week- 2

Moving into week 2, being thankful for the little things doesn't seem harder but sometimes I do find it more shallow.
I don't like to be shallow.
But alas, I've been called worse.
I think.

8-I'm thankful for Pioneer Woman. I'm so glad we've become friends since her blog turned book and she became a network TV star. We had so much fun at the girls cookout show she did for Food Network. Except I wasn't there. I was sitting in my rocker with 30lbs of sleeping baby drooling on me. Ok, so we're not really friends but we're facebook friends and that counts, right? I"m thankful because she has redefined my way of cooking, for the tastier not the healthier. She's made many of my dinner guests Oooo and ahhhh over meals she's helped prepare and she also made for some very happy friends and neighbors that were the proud recipients of her cinnamon rolls at the holidays. My friends and fat cells thank her, my jeans and gym commitment do not.

9-I'm thankful for the dollar store communion cups. Yes, the Dollar Tree sells little clear plastic communion cups. Hey, the church has gotta catch a bargain where ever they can! I thought they looked fun. I'm a sucker for little things. It might have been the best $1 spent in that store to date. The first day I brought them home, Lincoln spread them all over the kitchen and crushed a few and I collected them and threw those away. A few days later, the boys had a makeshift picnic in the kitchen using those cups, a towel and a pitcher of water. Yesterday, I bought baking soda and filled the cups halfway and added food coloring. With a recycled agave nectar bottle, I added vinegar and let jackson squirt away while colorful foam exploded into the flat pan. It was a beautiful rainbow and the little cups were perfect. After the few that were left were washed, I made multi colored jell-o shooters for the kids afterschool snacks. Don't get any big ideas, they were alcohol free! I saved the good stuff for later ;) After dinner tonight, the remaining cups were used to cut playdoh into cookies and banana shapes. I'm telling you, all that fun for $1. You know you want some!

10-I'm thankful for the playground that lies right across the street from us. I would have paid a higher rent just to be here. It is SO nice to be able to say, go play at the park and not have to drive there or even turn dinner off to go. It's also great to not have to feel guilty for not having a swing set in the back yard for the kids. Jackson is old enough to go alone and being that we also live on a cul-de-sac makes the traffic a non-issue as well. I always remember the day I found this house on Craigslist. We were still living in NC and I was becoming frustrated in my housing vs school search. We had met Mari and her girls at the park, the one we had to drive to, for the afternoon and I showed her the ad on Craigslist. It was perfect AND in our price range and school district. We both wondered, what's the catch? I actually sat on it several days before I even called. It was still a month out from being vacant. It was one of few houses we looked at in Nashville. It was the last one. We had found our "home" for the next two years.

11-I am so grateful for the Auto button on the coffee maker. What genius thought of that little gem? I mean, sure Folgers coined the best part of wakin' up but seriously, nobody wants to get up and perform the arduous task of making the coffee in the morning while kids are yelling for their milks and bars. Or even better when I walk in from my early morning runs to a carafe of hot coffee when I know I should be drinking water. It makes me feel naughty and who wouldn't want to feel naughty at 6:30 am! To me, the best part of waking up is hearing that triple beep meaning my coffee is waiting on me.

12-I'm thankful for our membership at the YMCA. I knew I wanted to join a gym when we moved here. I lost my 2 best running partners and the little gym at the Military housing area that I'd claimed as my own since they built it. One look at the YMCA and all it's great amenities and I just knew it would be out of our budget but surprisingly it's not. Actually, without Lincoln in any type of preschool this year, we can't afford not to. My Y friends and I all jokingly say that it's worth the money for the childcare alone. They will watch Lincoln for 2 hours a day so I look at it as his form of preschool. He gets to play with other kids and I get to WORK-IT! Not to mention, it's a great place to run with their 50 treadmills, particularly when it's raining in the mornings and they have a killer indoor pool that I look forward to utilizing more and more this winter. Besides, all my mommy friends go so after we get our sweat on, we get to stand around and chat. Totally worth it!

13-I'm thankful for the Nashville Public Library system. I love the public library. I can thank my mother for that. Our library here in Bellevue has A LOT to be desired though. It's small and out dated but I learned early on that you can request ANY media in the system and they will deliver it to your branch and you can pick it up there. New release movies, tons of books on Playaway (mp3 type device) and even new books before they are released. Sure, there are always holds on the good ones but if you just wait, your turn will come. Yesterday, I spent an hour reserving books and movies for me and the kids and they will all come here to me. They also email you when they come in and send you an email reminder when they are due. No more book or DVD fines for us! So, I guess I'll forgive the Bellevue Library for its mediocrity because the online system ROCKS!