Thankful Thursday Week 4

Really, 4 weeks into 2012 already? That went fast!

1. I"m thankful I started Thankful Thursday, it gives me something to blog about at least once a week. I should come up with other theme days!
2. I'm SUPER thankful this week for the employment opportunity that came my way. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I'm thankful that at least the ball is rolling ... perhaps the dream will become reality!
3. I'm thankful that it is the eve before our monthly Moms Breakfast AND that this month I will be going solo ... no plus 1 in the form of baby Blake. Love hanging out with my mommy friends from school, eating yummy food and drinking drug-laced coffee that leaves me jittery the rest of the day.
4. I'm thankful that I am NOT coaching Alyssa's cheerleading squad this year after sitting in for Coach Debbie tonight. WOW.
5. I'm thankful that I was invited to the most amazing speaker this past Tuesday. She was one of the most phenomenal speakers I've ever heard and did such a great job presenting her material. The presentation was supposed to be on how to set healthy boundaries for children, but I came away really reflecting on myself as a parent and inspired to change myself for the better.

Thankful Thursday Week 3

(better a day late than not at all, right?)

Feeling it quite a bit of a funk tonight, so here's hoping this will be therapeutic for me.

1. I'm thankful for my place at my kids' school. After a PTA meeting Tuesday night where I was ambushed by multiple people with encouragement to run for PTA board (NO!), hours spent on the phone coordinating ideas for Teacher Appreciation week and a planning meeting last night where I felt like a VIP (very important parent?), I love my role as a parent volunteer. I love that I fit in with these moms, that my thoughts and ideas are respected (and appreciated) and that people look to me for leadership.
2. I'm thankful that Adam, Joel and I got to have lunch at school with our "wave of the week" Alyssa today. 2.5 ... I'm thankful I didn't spend $ on a school hot dog, the bite I did eat of Alyssa's was VERY rubbery.
3. I'm thankful for my friend Mollie who is my kindred spirit, my soul mate, the other pea in my pod, etc, etc.
4. I'm thankful that my dad is doing FABULOUSLY in his latest round of PT. And I'm just plain thankful for my dad. He is such a huge part of me. I'm very blessed to have the parents that I have.
5. I'm thankful that at my massage today instead of the normal "A 60 minute massage includes changing time, so you only actually get 45 - 50 minutes" mentality, I got a good 60+ minutes of much needed (kneaded?) mommy time. Is that what happens when you go to a professional instead of the massage therapy school?

Good to remember

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr I wanted to share a quote that I read today that really struck a chord with me (hopefully I will "muse" further in an upcoming entry) ...

"Whatever your life's work is, do it well" Martin Luther King, Jr.

So simple, yet so powerful and something I hope I strive for each day.

Meal Planner

Thanks to my newest obsession, aka Pinterest, meal planning at the Koch house got a lot more organized and colorful this week!

I love it! Now if I could just work on the execution of said meal planning every night.

Baby steps, its still a work in progress. But its a pretty work in progress!!!

Thankful Thursday Week 2

1. I'm thankful that its Thursday! Its the end of my work week ~ hooray!!!!
2. I'm thankful for the note that came home in Alyssa's folder today that read: "I am very sad because you are not her rite now mom. Love, Alyssa". Not that I ever want to her be sad, but its nice to know that she wants me around!
3. Along the same lines, I'm thankful that my mom is one of my best friends. I often feel very sad because she is not here right now, too.
4. I'm thankful that I have great friends that are willing to pick Alyssa up from school when its 10 degrees out so that I didn't have to load up 4 boys in the van after school.
5. I'm thankful that after 11 1/2 years together I still get butterflies in my stomach and feel giggly when I see Adam walk through the door.

Round 'em up!

Today marks a big day for Joel (and for me) ~ kindergarten roundup!

I can so clearly remember going through this with Alyssa two years ago. I felt completely lost and overwhelmed, but I didn't want to show her that because I didn't want her to be nervous. So I put on my brave face and walked in clutching my handful of registration papers, but I'm sure I had that "this is my first time and I have no idea what I'm doing" look on my face. I remember I didn't know a single other person in the room. I remember looking around nervously and wondering which kids would become Alyssa's classmates, which ones would become Alyssa's friends, which ones would be the "anti-friend" and which parents would become my friends and support system as I sent my baby off to the big bad world of elementary school. :) I remember feeling hopeless as I listened to the principal, the secretary, school nurse and school counselor giving out overwhelming amounts of information about the rules and regulations of the school, their specific job and how they would interact with the kids. It was so foreign to me and so much to take in that I felt like all the information just washed over me and moved on to the row of parents behind me.

What a change 2 years can make! This year I will walk in confidently with my ONE piece of paper to register Joel (plus side of having him do preschool at the same school he will do kindergarten at, I've already filled out and signed the bajillions of forms!). I look forward to surveying the other kids and parents to look for how many familiar faces I will find. I feel excited to scope out Joel's potential new best friends and classmates! I'm even looking forward to hearing "the talk" from all the different professionals at the school because I feel like this time I might actually RETAIN the information that they give. And I might even learn something that I should have learned 2 years ago!

My sensitive boy

We took Joel to see "Toy Story 3" as his first movie in the theater. Approximately 15 minutes into the movie he started sobbing uncontrollably. He was so sad that Woody and the other friends weren't together, that Buzz was turning "bad" and that they weren't all together in Andy's room anymore. He wanted to leave immediately and looked at me with tear-filled confused eyes as to why his mommy would put him through this kind of torture. Needless to say, I convinced him to stay because I didn't want him to have a phobia of theaters for the rest of his life. But it was REALLY hard at the end of the movie to convince him that this movie-going business was a good thing when I had tears rolling down my face (seriously, did ANY mom get through Toy Story 3 without crying the first 1/2 dozen times?). I kept telling him in a overly dramatic happy voice "See?! They're all together! And that new little girl is going to love them and play with them and they're all going to live happily ever after!". * insert loud nose blowing and sniffling on my part *

Fast forward to tonight when we were watching "Wizards of Waverly Place: Who Will Be the Family Wizard" on Disney channel. Joel had been talking about this particular episode for weeks. The last couple days every time he saw a WoWP episode or the movie he would get all excited and think that he was finally going to find out out who the family wizard was going to be. Anyway, what an emotional ride the show ended up being for Joel. I think he cried at least 3 times. He was so worried that Justin, Alex and Max were going to mad at each other forever and wanted to know where they were going to live when they sold the Sub Shop. And then the waterworks really started when he was trying to find comfort in the fact that he thought they still had "hand magic" even though they had to give up their wands and then found out that ALL their magic was taken away. Poor kid. And then there is his supportive, comforting mom attempting not to snort with laughter as I looked at his crestfallen face. He's definitely going to need therapy some day.

Thankful Thursday

One of my "12 things to look forward to in 2012" talked about gratitude journals, so I'm going to try to do Thankful Thursdays where I post 5 things I'm thankful for. I just realized that if I do this every week this year (and if I'm doing my math right) I'll have over 250 things to be thankful for. That's a little overwhelming!

This week I am thankful for:

1. By far, my most thankful is having Adam home with us and amazingly 99% fine after having a "fairly significant" stroke on Friday at the age of 34.
2. Jimmy John's "Thinny Chips".
3. Vampire Diaries is back on after an 8 week break. I heart Vampires!
4. My kindle that Adam got me for Christmas.
5. 2 adorable kids that make me laugh every single day.

End of break

I'm probably in the minority, but I'm really sad that the kids' (and my) winter break is coming to an end tomorrow. Back to school they go and back come Grant and Will. I've really, really, really enjoyed having just Alyssa and Joel home for 2+ weeks. And although it was partially illness-induced that I didn't have any "bonus" kids for 2 weeks its been really nice not "working" for 2 weeks. I'm sad to see it end. (Although I will welcome back the paycheck! ;) ) I've enjoying *almost* every pjs-till-noon, hanging out, puttering around, cuddling, napping, movie/tv watching, game playing, art project making moment and I don't want it to end!!! Usually I can't wait to send them back to school so that we can get back into our "normal" routine again and back to my attempt at an organized life, but I don't even really feel that way this year. Bah humbug end of winter break!

2012 - the year of the blog.

I thought about titling this post "2012 - the year of the blog?" with a question mark, but decided on a period instead. This WILL be the year of the blog. The year that I get back to my mama musings, I've missed it! And hopefully there's still a couple people out to be my loyal readers and leave glowing comments! :)

So, starting off, 12 things that I'm looking forward to in 2012 (instead of making resolutions this year, seems a little more "in stone"). In no particular order:

1. Our second family vacation to Disney World for Joel's 5th birthday celebration! We leave a month from tomorrow!!!

2. Celebrating 10 years of marriage with Adam. Granted, we just celebrated 9 years 4 days ago, so we've got a ways to go, but I look forward to having a good, solid 10 years under our belt.

3. Seeing Alyssa's dance recital in June. She started at a new studio this year doing jazz instead of the usually tap and ballet and absolutely loves it. This studio feels more "professional" (without being TLC-reality show scary), so I'm looking forward to seeing her in a REAL recital since all her previous ones have felt like she's just jumping around/stomping her tap shoes.

4. Joel starting Kindergarten. EXTREMELY bittersweet, but I am amazed at the person he has blossomed into just being a part of the Saddlebrook's pre-k program I can't wait to see what they do with his when he's in "real" school!

5. Figuring out what I want to be when my kids "grow up". I feel confident that my time as a daycare provider is coming to and end along with having my own kids at home full time. I have a wide spectrum of possibilities in front of me and I'm looking forward to seeing what path I will be lead down. Right now I think taking up part time residence in Archivers and catching up on all my scrapbooking is in the lead. ;)

6. Keeping up with my blog! I've been reading a lot/hearing a lot about thankfulness or gratitude journals and I love the idea of them. This past Thanksgiving my mother-in-law had us all write down what we were thankful for on a piece of paper then we "locked" it in a box and she plans to have us read it next Thanksgiving. It was really thought provoking to write down all the wonderful blessings I have in my life.

7. Becoming a stronger presence in the kids' elementary school. I've pretty much decided to take over the room parent coordination job next year, which will allow me to interact with more staff and more parents. I'm excited to get even deeper into the Saddlebrook community.

8. Rediscovering my inner bookworm. Adam got me a Kindle for Christmas and I am LOVING it so far! Its strange, but I find when I'm reading books on my Kindle that its much easier for me to put it down, whereas when I'm reading an actual book I tend to get sucked in and stay up too late or ignore what I should be doing in order to hurry up and see how the book ends! Of course, I've only had the Kindle for a week, so this may change.

9. Establishing regular "family time". My goal is to start with one night per month, always the same night. I feel like the kids are getting to the point where we can more easily enjoy a family night together whether it be pizza and a movie or playing board games. Its important to me that Alyssa and Joel grow up with that sense of connection and I think they're reaching a good age to start solidifying it.

10. Becoming a more regular attendee of Stone Bridge Christian Church and getting involved through volunteering with the children's programs. I finally feel like I've found a "church home" after searching for almost 15 years, I'm looking forward to getting more established and settled and making it my "own".

11. Becoming healthier. This isn't your standard "I'm going to lose _____ lbs this year" or "I will weigh _____ pounds by the end of the year" or "I will wear a size _____" statement. Yes, I would like to lose weight, but I don't know if that will/can happen. I do know that I can be better able eating healthier (and providing healthier meals/choices for my family) and that I can be more consistent with taking my supplements, vitamins, etc. And I am going to encourage our family to get out and be more active together.

12. After losing Adam's cousin, Jana, this past summer and struggling with watching my dad's health deteriorate, I've learned to really appreciate the time that I have with the people I love. Not to say that I don't feel sad and depressed when I think about what "could have been", but I try to remind myself of what I've had that other people don't get the chance to have. And I try to be more aware of how quickly my babies won't want to cuddle with me or won't want me to read book or kiss them goodnight. I try to appreciate the small things each day. And I look forward to the small moments of love, laughter, inspiration and happiness that 2012 holds for me.

And to end this first blog post of 2012: Alyssa's New Year's Resolution: To do a cartwheel.

Note to self: Look into gymnastics camp to help Alyssa achieve her resolution. :)