Thankful Day 5

Today I'm thankful for:

• Technology.  First thing this morning I spent 25 minutes trying to get Emma to say something on Evie - well, I was going for "want" "go" "walk".  She said "want" and that's when I lost her because I turned on my video camera on the phone.   I was trying to get a video of her talking with it since she's been doing so good.  She only wanted to see what was going on with my phone and wouldn't look at Evie.  I was frustrated at the end because I really wanted to take Emma and Finnegan for a walk before she headed off to school.  And I know Emma is great at saying "go" "walk" since she does it almost every morning as part of our routine before her school bus arrives.  Me = 10000% frustrated.  Emma = 98% giggly and smiling with 2% annoyed with me.  I clearly need to take my lead from Emma more and just go with the flow sometimes!
• Easy bedtimes.  Busy day = tired children = easy bedtime = very thankful Me!
• Nights out.  Chris is at a basketball game tonight.  I like when he gets out because he doesn't seem to go out nearly as much as me.  More nights out for him will make me feel less guilty when I have nights out for me :-)  He and a friend have a 10 game package for the basketball games.  That means more nights out = good thing in my book!
• Our comfortable place to live.  I feel terrible for all the people left homeless or in bad shape from Hurricane Sandy.  So thankful we were spared and thankful for the American Red Cross and other support that so many of us are signing up to help.

Phew!  It's day 5 and I still have no shortage of things for which I'm thankful.  I hope everyone reading this is as blessed!

Until tomorrow.....when I'm sure I'll be thankful the election commercials are gone from tv!!!!!!!!  Please remember to vote.  I'm taking Emma in the morning.  We're voting for Obama for a 2nd term.  We support him for soooooo many reasons.  Hope the rest of the country agrees we need a second term of Obama.  We'll know soon enough!

Thankful Day 4

Today I'm thankful for:

• My very supportive husband
• An extra hour
• Warm baths
• Shopping with gift cards
• Warm drinks
• Our dog 

Thankful Day 3

This will be a short post.  Today I'm thankful for:

• Our family
• Shrinkwrap for windows in the winter
• Little children in footie, cuddly pajamas
• Cars that run
• Neighborhood get-togethers - no driving required
• Electric power

Thankful Day 2

Today both girls were off from school and we had such a fun day together.  Today, I'm thankful for:

• Waking up without alarm clocks
• Hot drinks.  Especially the Pumpkin Coffee from Dunkin Donuts I purchased today with my gift card
• Grilled cheese sandwiches with soup dinners.  Everyone eats without complaints so we are able to have conversations that don't include "how many more bites do I have to eat????????" and "can I be done now?  how about now?  what if I eat a banana instead??"
• Family movie nights - and inviting a neighbor over to join in the fun
• Fun afternoons with friends.  Today we met friends at Chuck E Cheese for lunch and games.  Julia is always such a trooper tagging along to all Emma's therapy appointments on her days off from school that this was just the special treat she deserved! 

• Giggly girls during physical therapy and a PT that is so great with both my children - not just the one getting therapy!

Thankful Day 1

Last year during the month of November I shared things I was thankful for and I'm going to do it again this year.  I believe thankfulness is a muscle that we need to exercise - the more we stop and allow ourselves to really think about all we have to be thankful for, the more blessed and happy we feel.

Today I feel overwhelmed with how many wonderful things happened to us today.  I am especially thankful for:

• A package received in the mail from a stranger.  It's a part we use to troubleshoot and control Emma's CI and somehow I had lost hers and a replacement unit is very expensive and not at all in our budget.  I've been looking around the house for this part everyday for weeks because I feel something is "up" with the CIs and I wanted to use the part to do a bit of troubleshooting before the CI warranty is up next month!  Last week someone posted on an internet CI group that they had this part and were offering to give it away for free to anyone that needed it.  Someone else had requested the part before me, but they were going to use it as a spare and the person wanted Emma to have it since it would be her primary (not spare) unit.  The part arrived today in the mail along with a lovely note.  Tonight I feel so thankful that a stranger took the time to help make our life a bit easier.  Once again I'm reminded of how amazing it feels to be blessed by the kindness of strangers!
• Caring teachers and finding a school that is the perfect environment for my child to learn.  We attended the parent teacher conference for Julia today and I really appreciated all the time and energy her teachers put into communicating with us and helping our daughter learn in such a warm, nurturing environment.  Julia's school fits her personality to a T and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to send her there.  
• Spontaneous comments.  Emma's teachers told me today that Emma used her talker 4 times during craft time without being prompted.  She asked for glue, scissors twice (my girl LOVES using the one-handed scissors), and crayons.  Emma has never used her talker spontaneously at school and only used spontaneously a couple of times at home.  This is a major goal we are working on with her IEP and it's wonderful to see that Emma is starting to connect well with Evie and to use it appropriately without prompting.  
• A beautiful card and note in the mail today for our anniversary.  Along with a generous gift.  Thanks so much to the person who sent it (you know who you are - I don't want to call you out here because I'm not sure if it would embarrass you!).  

Wishing everyone days filled with much to be thankful for.