Annual List of Thankfulness...

So I'm sorely lagging in this Thanksgiving post. Get over it. I've got a teething kid, a snotty kid, and a furry kid who eats my heels. I'm busy ;)

We had a great Thanksgiving (aside from Carrie tending to a major flooding emergency at the mountain house!). I ran in the Turkey Trot at the crack of dawn, beating my previous 5k time by over two minutes! The boys and Remy were there to cheer me on, so that put a little pep in my step. After the race, it was home to watch the Macy's parade (my very favorite tradition), sip hot chocolate, and peruse the Black Friday ads (in which I had absolutely no desire to participate in). After family time on the couch, we headed to Matt's for a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Please don't ask Nick how his experimental Chicken Mole turned out. Capped off by a night in front of the firepit, it was the perfect day.

Which brings me to my annual list of things that I am thankful for. Honestly, I can't remember if I do this annually or not. I'm lucky that I remember my own middle name these days. Regardless, here's the list for 2012; in no particular order...

1. Starbucks. If I do do this list annually, I'm sure this is a staple.
2. The DSW clearance rack. Did I mention the part about the dog and the shoes?
3. Grandparents. Or Nick and I would never get a date night.
4. Dance. Which I'm hoping will once again become a big part of my life.
5. Wine.
6. The Matchbox, Hot Wheels and Lego companies. For constantly giving me a reason to shout expletives.

And in all seriousness, my family, friends and beautiful children, who I love more than life itself.

Stop the Stigma...

My heart is broken. As a mother of two young children, and as a human being, I am distraught, disgusted, confused, and angered at the events that took place in Connecticut yesterday, as are people from around the globe. When I first heard what had happened in the late afternoon, I immediately got into my car, drove to Brixon's school, and awoke him from his nap to give him the biggest hug I have ever given him. We went to Starbucks, shared a cookie, and I silently thanked God the rest of the night how thankful I was that I was able to embrace my children. No parent should ever have to face the loss of their child; especially when they are in the safety and comfort of their elementary school.
So where to we go from here? Stricter gun control? More concealed weapons? Home-school all of our children, and stop going to malls, movie theatres and churches? There are no concrete answers to guarantee that this incessant and inexplicable violence will end. But what we can do is learn to recognize the early signs of mental illness, and make treatment widely available. We need to disassociate the negative stigma that often accompanies mental illness, and recognize that it is a disease. Mental illness needs to be treated, just as we treat cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Every massacre that has occurred in our once safe havens has been committed by an individual diagnosed with a mental illness.These individuals have either never received any form of treatment, or stopped treatment. Parents, siblings, friends...if you know someone who is sick, help them get the assistance that they need. Please, stop the stigma and stop the violence.

"The Days are Long, but the Years are Short..."

I don't often post quotes, and I don't often get sentimental; but I'm doing both in this post. I just got through reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (where the quote above originates), and haven't felt this inspired in ages (I also attended a phenomenal dance convention last weekend, so that helped). If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. My copy is filled with post-its, notes in the margins, and entire paragraphs bathed in orange highlighter. What a great lesson in appreciation for what you have, incentive for making improvements, and motivation for lasting change. Here are a few great ideals that stuck with me (and I hope continue to do so...):

Be Casey: In the author's case, it was "Be Gretchen." She said this to herself daily; accept who you are in everything that you do. Whether it is what you wear, the books you read, the music you listen to, or in the hobbies you pursue. Always stay true to who you are. That being said, a key take-away from this book was not only being yourself, but finding ways to make yourself better. Can you be nicer? Could you be more patient? Is there any possible way for you to relinquish some control? Yes, yes, and yeeeesssss.

Do What you Love...and Avoid What you Don't: Think about the hobbies and interests that make you happy. Truly happy. And accept two facts: 1.) Just because someone else loves something doesn't mean you will (or should), too and 2.) You can't do it all. Gretchen Rubin is a genius; sheer genius. I know I am absolutely guilty of both, and most likely, so are you :) Focus on the things that you are passionate about, and make time to do them.

Have Fun: I interpreted this personally as 'quit being such an uptight b*$%@ all of the time.' :) "The days are long, but the years are short;" If ever a phrase resounded with me, it is that. I spend a lot of time on needless worry, I have somewhat of a low tolerance for really anything irritating, and I obsess over a clean house. But the years are too short and too precious to waste fretting or feeling anxious. So let the dishes go for the night, turn on the music, grab your kids, and spend the night dancing in the living room.

I am starting my own Happiness Project in January. I will keep you posted on my progress. But now, I'm off to shake a tailfeather....

http://www.happiness-project.com

'Tis the Season...

Well maybe not the season, but a season, anyway...and my very favorite one. I love fall for countless reasons; cooler weather (which we can now actually enjoy on our patio), Yankee Candle Autumn Wreath (thank God for those Buy One, Get One coupons they keep sending me), and most importantly, Halloween (somewhat of a big deal in our house...see all past Halloween posts if you need further reference...).

 

Hudson started going to school with Brixon two days a week, and boy is it hard to get two kids dressed and out the door! But it's working out (aside from the perpetual runny nose and eye goobers we've been dealing with for the past two weeks.)

 

 We've been busy enjoying our weekends and evenings, visiting Hunsader Farms in Bradenton, going to the Boo Ball, watching B play soccer (or watching him sit on the sidelines complaining about how much he hates soccer, rather ;)), and lots of other fun activities. Brixon had wanted to be a firefighter for Halloween for the longest time, so two nights before trick-or-treating, we brought him up to see Nick's friend, Rich, who is a firefighter. The guys at the station were so great, loading him up with lots of goodies, and letting him explore all of the vehicles. He really couldn't wait to be a firefighter after that night!!

And finally, as if we could really take on one more responsibility, Nick came home with a 'family surprise' the other night; a goldendoodle. Ahhh, another living, breathing creature to feed, nurture and clean up after!! He even gave her my baby girl name, Remington, as if that would somehow soften the blow! Good thing he had an entire drive from Orlando for me to recover! But I have to say, so far, so good. We've only had one accident to clean up, she's already learned to sit, and the boys adore her. So looks like I won't be the only girl in the house anymore!!

 

 

 

 

 Lucy and Ethel (in black and white)...it's a shame nobody got it ;)

 

 Halloween Party...I'm pretty sure he has all of the food groups on that plate :)

 

 Character Parade...they were all characters from the book Ten Little Puppies

 



 My little farmer!

 

 Mummy with her firefighter and his firedog!

 

 He even kept the ears on!

 

 Digging for fossils at Hunsader!

 

 Found one, Mom!

 



 Nick wins again....gah...

 

 Performing at church...of course he would be in front of the microphone. We really need to work on getting this kid out of his shell :)

 

One?!? Say it Ain't So...

Our baby turned one on October 8! What a great year we've had...Hudson is such a funny, spirited, loving little man, and we all absolutely adore him. I love to watch the relationship he has with Brixon grow and change (I'm hearing a lot more "MOM! Huddy stole my car!" lately...), and can't wait to watch them continue to bond.

 

We had the family over for cake on his actual birthday (after we dragged ourselves off of a red-eye flight), and then a Monsters Inc. party on Saturday the 13th. I think he's still recovering from his frosting overdose...

 

 

 No, you don't have to adjust the color on your screen. Purple flowers with purple writing. Hey, I said we just got off a red-eye ;)

 

 Sully's Slime Station! Remember making oobleck in junior high?!? It was a hit!

 

 Ron Bates at his best, yet again!!

 

 The half-full table. I got a little eager with the photo-taking...

 

 Wearing the same shoes B wore on his first birthday!!

 

 

 

 Hey, good call on the blue and purple frosting there, mom!