Clean floors

I put the work in this morning and I am thankful to still have clean floors this evening. That doesn't always happen...especially with rainy weather outside, 2 giant dogs and a boy who gets into lots of messes.

Clean floors are a party for as long as they last!

Who is this kid?

I am thankful for probably the greatest church service yet with Bug. He behaved divinely and  paid such attention that he was "amen-ing" at appropriate times and he even stood up and grabbed my hand in anticipation of communion. I was able to listen to the sermon and it was great! This is what church is capable of being and I was in heaven...no pun intended.

Allow me to elaborate... Bug and I have NEVER gone to church without Big. Bug is a handful at church, to say the very least. Together, Big and I, tag team him and manage to get through the service intact. I made a pact with myself that last night before bed that we would go to church together today and see how it went. Big was away last night to see his (crazy-ass) mom for dinner as she is in our fine state of Texas at her sister's house. He stayed the night with his best buddy and his future fiance and then raced home at lightning speed to see us. I don't think he believed we would make it but we did him proud!

Amen!

Dinner date-party of two

Today I am thankful to be having a date night with Bug while Big is away for the night. We are heading out to sushi for dinner (although we are limited somewhat b/c of the pregnancy) and we plan to eat ourselves silly. It is so wonderful to have an open-minded little eater. He will gobble up everything I give him tonight and that is a priceless treat.

Yay, wasabi and california rolls...and shrimp tempura rolls...and any other cooked rolls I can sink my sushi-loving teeth into.

Moms have names

My thanks today may seem silly but it is a HUGE achievement for me...and maybe for several other moms.

I am thankful to have finally exhanged names with my mom friends at Bug's swim class. It is the next step in our friendship becoming a reality rather than a Friday morning figment of our imaginations. After we did it, we all laughed at how long it has gone on and how many mom's we know as only "so-and-so's mom."

Today, I have a name! And my two mom friends, Katie and Leann, have names, too!

And what further cracked me up was that when we left and went to the bookstore, we ran into a student we used to swim with, Jacob, and his sister and his mom. And unfortuantely, she still is just Jacob's mom.

Bug has been in swim every semester since May 2008. And I have NEVER known a parent's name unless we went in knowing one another. And I am not antisocial...I am always friends with several moms and dads in the watching room.

We have also been in music and those moms I knew only becasue the teacher would address us all by name. Had we waited for self-imposed introductions, we'd have all left music as mom-to-this-kid or that kid. God bless our teacher!

Has anyone else had this experience? It is funny, really.

Our first very thankful Thursday in November

Today I am so thankful to have a very healthy and perfect looking little boy growing inside.

I was sooooo wrong about the sex and that is absolutely fine with me. I was at total peace with whatever gender we saw today and was too busy hearing how perfect all his systems are looking to even be very caught up in the boy parts. We got a great report at the MFM! He ruled out lots of things (heart defects, cleft lip/palate, club foot, spina bifida) and said that he was able to see everything that they would check at a 20 week scan and it all looks good. That said, we are in the clear and can come back to him in 8 weeks. I am pleased that he feels so confident although I would love to have that extra visit with him for reassurance sake. In any case, I can still manage weekly doppler checks with my OB until I feel consistent movement and I am so hoping we get to feel it.

Every good doctor visit feels like such a blessing...it is hard to believe we have come this far and I pray that we make it to a baby at the end of this journey. But we are a LONG way from that just yet.

I am grateful for the well wishes and know that prayer is working for us in this case. The thoughts have buoyed my spirits which is making all the difference on the tough days.

Having reached Erin's due date on a day as wonderful as today has further firmed my belief in her presence in our lives from her perch in Heaven. She rained her joy on us today and sent us her blessings. We are lucky to have her there and I will now get to celebrate her due date. She made it a day of goodness and hope because she showed up for us today and for her little brother. She is and forever will be a blessed part of our family and there is such peace in feeling her as a part of us.

God bless you, Erin~we love you.

A time for Thanks

I just read about this on Fertile Fantasy  and she saw someone doing it on Face.book. As a girl who is not afraid to acknowledge and borrow a great idea...

I am going to post one thing I am thankful for each day until and through Thanksgiving Day. Some days the post may only be that one sentence or fragment but I am loving this idea!!!

I ought to catch up...

Nov 1...I am so thankful to have a husband that loves me despite my ever-present tiredness. He walked in the Susan G. Komen in the morning and I just hung out with Bug while he did that. Still, he handled all the evening Bug duties so I could rest and relax.

Nov 2...It is wonderful to have a son that I can grocery shop with and have fun while we do it! He even earned a ride on the little $.50 airplane out front for good behavior.

Nov 3...I appreciate blog-land angels who share comments and our rough days with LFCA to lend additional support when we need it.

Nov 4...Happening upon this idea of graciousness today...and our backyard lunch picnic in this beautiful weather.

Here's hoping for a lot of thanks tomorrow on our ultrasound and Erin's due date.

Imagine my surprise...

Imagine my surprise when I came across our news in the LFCA.

 

Thank YOU very much to my angel out in blogland. I think you are Fishsticks but in case I am wrong, Thank YOU, Thank YOU and Thank YOU!

 

I am at my standard Tuesday place in the week. I am having serious doubts that the news will be good on Thursday and just trying to hang in until then. Unfortunately, Big is on a business trip and I am solo mom to Bug and 2 ginormous dogs. It is a challenge that I am unaccustomed to. I appreciate so much having Big home for dinner each night so I can cook and clean up without any worry for Bug. Big relieves me of mommy duty each night and I treasure that relief. We are getting by just fine so far...he's been gone since yesterday morning and he'll be home tomorrow night. So, we are halfway there! It has been really great b/c I find myself allowing greater patience in my day b/c I realize there isn't an end in sight until bedtime.

 

The only real struggle so far has been bathtime. I am getting too big to manage from outside the tub. So, tonight, I am hopping in with the Bug and we will have a bath playtime together. That will be nice, too. I like a warm bath to slow down after the day and I will be ready for bed about the same time as Bug tonight.

 

What I haven't mentioned is that Big is likely taking a position which will require a good deal of travel. So, I am adjusting during this trip like it will be occuring weekly from here on out. I may have lots more to vent on that later. But for now, I am looking at it as a positive. At least, I will have the routine of being a solo mom to one child down pat well in advance of the possibility of being a solo mom to 2 kids. Here's hoping I get to face that challenge in April and beyond!

 

Thank YOU again for sharing my tough days with LFCA. I appreciate the thought and time!