Fruit in my dessert: Gratitude Journal

April 4, 2012

1. my dishwasher

2. Thin Mints

3. An almost-two-year who kisses and hugs her brother goodnight.

4. A four-year-old who tells said almost-two-year-old sister, "I'll see you tomorrow," even thought they'll lay within inches of each other all night.

5. Texting...especially when it enables B and I to "talk" when he's away.

It's been over THREE years since I've done this in writing. Please excuse the materialistic nature of today's list. They're the first things that came to mind.

January 16, 2012

1. Blogs that wait for you to come back.

2. Magnatiles.

3. Shake Shack.

4. A family who gets to spend enough time together that we want to spend time apart too.

5. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

December 2, 2008
1. HD's health. (Routine one year) blood draw attempts 3 and 4 today. 4 was successful. Tough but over.
2. Mom's homemade hot fudge
3. Sister who gets it and gets that I get it too
4. Wooden ride-on rocking train that my dad made for HD that HD is loving and that means so much more than the toy itself
5. Physical reminders to take better care of myself

November 30, 2008
1. Rice Krispies
2. Old friends who call even when I forget to email them back
3. A one-year-old who thinks it's awesome when I put dried pasta in tupperware containers to make maracas for him
4. Caffeinated beverages
5. Delicious sandwiches that taste the same every time and allow me to have a favorite local lunch place

November 28, 2008
1. A limitless supply of clean drinking water
2. The relationships that my son is developing with his grandparents
3. Son of Rambow
4. iGoogle's To Do List
5. Cheerios

November 27, 2008
1. A family that travels to be with us for Thanksgiving, just because we ask
2. A husband who loves to cook for this holiday and is amazing at it
3. A dad who says he's thankful for me meeting BH, because so much of what he is thankful for stems from that, and a dad who says that in front of a bunch of other people that he doesn't know that well
4. A mom who puts aside her own anxiety to help me with mine by supporting BH and me with preparations, interactions, and clean up of our big day
5. A sister who checks in throughout the day on days like today when we can't be together
6. Making it through year one with HD with flying colors

September 14, 2008
1. That BH's job makes it so I don't have to work unless I want to
2. That I can work and people want me to help them with work
3. Ice pack when my back hurts
4. Parents who take the day off to take care of my baby in NY so I can go to a professional event just because I want to
5. A husband who helps me see it's possible and pushes me to make it happen
6. The love I have for my baby that makes me miss him when he sleeps at night
7. Being able to read
8. A husband who knows how to make poached pears and does it because I think it's important for our participation in our local environmental competition
9. Barack Obama and Sarah Palin for completely opposite reasons - they are both opening discourse and moving us forward as a nation, if only inches at a time

August 24, 2008
1. A tired baby who can sleep
2. Old friends who mean it
3. Enough money to not worry
4. Text messaging
5. Someone who loves me enough to come back after I've been so terribly mean to him
6. The words, "I'm sorry"

August 23, 2008
1. My parents babysitting for HD last night so BH and I could go out to dinner with friends
2. Flowers from BH yesterday to celebrate the sixth anniversary of our engagement
3. Having so much stuff that we can give away new things to Goodwill
4. Craigs List and cash made selling bike, headboard, and rower ($50, $50, $500)
5. An awesome moms' group - online and off
6. Good friends like Auntie Fancypants
7. Loving neighbors
8. Chocolate croissants
9. Coffee
10. HD filling me up with love
11. Organized toys on repurposed shelf

August 9, 2008
1. BH
2. HD
3. Automatic ice maker
4. The Olympics
5. Good books (just finished The Dinner Diaries by Betsy Block)