30 Days of Gratitude: Day 30

Day 30:I'm grateful for so much. I'm blessed to have a wonderful family and a nice home. The days of worrying about how and what we'd eat seem further behind us all the time (but never forgotten). My children are healthy, intelligent and loved. I have a ridiculously affectionate dog. I have an army of friends and family to support, encourage and ground me. I have a place to share all my gratitude (and more remarkably, people who read it!). The book my essay was published in will be out next month. I get a little stronger and more confident in my physical vessel everyday. I have complete faith that the path before me is where I'm meant to go.

It's so easy to want more and different, but just enough/the same old can be so nice. Happy Thanksgiving/November/30 Days of Gratitude everyone!!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 29

Day 29: I'm grateful that my kids are so gosh darn entertaining! It comes in especially handy when there home from school and over excited for several days in succession.

Me: Did you have a super day Riley?
Roo:Yes!
Me: What did you do?
Roo: I did everything you can think of!
Me: You did? Did you sing a song?
Roo: Yes. But I didn't sing TURKEY songs I sang "Who's Here Today"
Me: Oh, was everyone at school today?
Roo: Yes
Me: That's good!
Roo: Why?
Me: I like your school friends. They're all nice.
Roo: Um, no. They're not.
Me: They're not? Who isn't nice?
Roo: (thinking) All of them sometimes, but when they look into the future they're all nice.

While painting turkey plates:
Me: Here's brown Riley
Roo: Oh, for the turkey?
Me: Yes
Roo: For the live turkey? Because live turkeys are brown.
Me: Um, yes.
Roo: And pink for the dead ones.
(laughter)
We did not make any dead turkeys if you're wondering.

Me: Tonight we're going to toast S'mores!
(later that day)
Roo: (Obviously haven gotten her wires crossed) Mom, When are we going to smoke cigarettes?
Me: What?!? You mean, make S'mores?
Roo: Yeah, is it time?
Me: Not yet.
(Even later that day)
Roo: Mom, When are we going to smoke cigarettes?
Me: Make S'mores, honey
Roo: Yeah, is it time?
Me: Not yet.
(That night)
Roo: We're going to smoke cigarettes!
Me: Make S'mores, honey!
Roo: Yeah!

In Home Depot Roo and I got separated from Mike and Isaac.
Me: Riley, do you see Daddy?
Roo: Um...no
Me: Me either...hmmm...Maybe he went to the Christmas lights
Roo: No, I know where he is!
Me: (Looking around) Where?
Roo: (without hesitation) He got arrested by an old guy,
Me: (laughing) I don't think so
Roo: Yeah, he got arrested by Old Nick

Me: Isaac, check the living room and see if there are any toys that need to be put away
Isaac: It looks like Santa came early. There's a stocking full of toys in here.
Me: Oh, I gave Riley an extra one to play with. Just set it in her room.
Roo: Yeah, Santa had to come early. He had to come to early because he got fired and he needed to tell us!

30 Days of Gratitude: (Day 28) Thanksgiving Edition!

Day 28: Family, Friends and Food! I know that's what everyone says on Thanksgiving, but it's hard NOT to be thankful for those things today. I'm so happy that some of our family could celebrate with us and that all of our family had somewhere to go to be grateful and stuff themselves today. I'm so thankful for my friends who keep me sane through the year. I'm also very thankful for our furry friends. We are blessed with an amazing dog and we were double blessed today because we got to have a very sweet furry friend visiting. The food, least I forget, was fabulous! Everything was delicious. The timing worked out well this year too. I'm thankful for family, friends and food this Thanksgiving and every day!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 27

Day 27: I'm grateful for traditions! Traditions like hosting Thanksgiving, the flowers Mike gives me every year for the centerpiece, Mike making a pumpkin pie from scratch every fall, playing board games with the kids while they're out of school, blasting Christmas/Disney/Broadway music while we finish the last of the pre-Thanksgiving cleaning, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with the kids and putting up the tree with just lights (and no other hints of Christmas) as a backdrop for our Thanksgiving table.

Riley has been talking about the wishbone for days so that may be a new one this year. I wonder what her little four year old heart is wishing for or if breaking a bone in half sounds fun? I especially love watching the parade with kids. It takes me back to when I lived in New York and worked for Santa at Macy's. It's extra special because Isaac and I watched it together before Riley was born. Watching the parade started before almost all of our other Thanksgiving traditions. I try to watch "Home for the Holidays" every year as it's the only Thanksgiving movie for adults I know of and a good one. I think the key is to have a couple you can draw from to give the holiday a little ceremony, but not so many you feel overwhelmed. So, enjoy whatever your traditions are on your list this week and tomorrow!

30 Days of Gratitude: Days 25 & 26

Day 25: I'm thankful for days when you accomplish your entire "to do list." It would probably bore you to tears to read about it, but I had a pretty hefty list today. I busted my butt my 7am-10:30pm and every last thing I wanted to accomplish was done. Thanks in no small part to my big kid helper being out of school and caffeine.

I think the key to accomplishing your list is to have realistic expectations. There are only so many hours in a day! This year I found myself overwhelmed by several dauntingly large cleaning projects. I figured out that setting a small goal every day for several days helped alot. For example, Clean out Isaac's bedroom became:

• Thurs: Transfer books to new shelf
• Fri: Sweep floors
• Sat: Clean Out/Organize/Dust Dresser
• Sun: Clean Out Small Closet
• Mon: Wash Bedding and Clean Out/Organize Desk
• Tues: Clean Out Big Closet

You get the idea, I worked my way around the room in sections attempting to spend no more than an hour a section/day in there. That way I don't get overwhelmed. My big kid helper responded well to this technique too. Dividing room cleaning, thank you card writing and any other chores made him more receptive to doing those tasks.

I was even able to clear and decorate my dining room table and spend some time working on my own room (both of which haven't happened since September at least) So thankful for this horribly exhausting productive day (& that while I toiled Roo got to play with her school friends on Pajama Day).

Day 26: Ordinarily, I am always up for a trip anywhere. Where's the next adventure? This time of year though, I am so grateful that we don't have to travel for Thanksgiving. As exhausting as hosting can be at least everyone comes to you. Not only that, but my house starts the Christmas season clean. Once I pick up Miss Roo from school it'a Mismatch Day today) I am hunkering down until at least Saturday. I am so glad I get to clean, cook and entertain kids who out of school without having to pack. I think we all remember how I feel about packing. We're very lucky that almost all of our loved ones are nearby as well so we don't even have to be the reason anyone else travels. I'm so very thankful for staying put.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 23 & 24

Day 23: It might be weird to be thankful for something Christmas related in November, but I am. Sincerity seems more important than seasonal appropriateness during this undertaking. I digress, Christmas Cards! I'm thankful for Christmas cards. What a wonderful tradition. I love making them, so fun! Every year we have fun topping the card from the year before. Last year's "Happy Smallidays" got a great reception. We just finished this year's and I'm so excited!

I love sending them out and imagining the reactions when people see them for the first time. I love that we're adding a little color to some mantles. I like that we're part of the non-stressful holiday mail. I like reaching out in a tactile way once a year to loved ones near and far. It's nice to keep in touch just to wish people a happy holiday. I love getting Christmas cards for most of the same reasons too.

Day 24: Naps!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 22

Day 22: School Events! The picture on the left is from the Thanksgiving party at Riley's school today where she performed the "Turkey Pokey". Those are her wing/tail and beak for the performance. She was rewarded with Thanksgiving feast and pie! It was a rare occasion when Mike and I could both attend. I'm so glad we did. I'm so glad her early years in school are filled with special days and fond memories (even if only Mike and I will remember them).

The picture on the right is from Isaac's Fairy Tale Breakfast in 2011. He's dressed up like a king and reading his original fairy tale. His story was a rehashing of Coraline (Only Isaac!), but his presentation did his actress mother proud! Even little Miss Roo dressed up like a princess to come along. He had a great teacher that year. It was an amazing day. I even got his presentation on video.

I love being able to "invade" my kids world without me now and then. I feel so included on those days. They always appreciate my presence way more than at home too. It's nice to celebrate with them and meet their friends. It's always worth squeezing into the tiny chair!

30 Days of Gratitude: Days 20 & 21

Day 20: All things Disney. Walt, of course. Mr. Disney is on my short list of dead people I'd love to have lunch with. The theme parks absolutely and Disney movies! I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to go tonight to an advanced screening of a new Disney movie, Frozen, with my little girl. I would have been a life long Disney fan no matter what, but it is so fun to share them with my kids.

Day 21: I'm grateful for the way my husband's brain operates (sometimes). I'm grateful that he participated in the Great American Teach In again this year. I'm glad that he was, once again, a rock star for doing the presentation "his way". He gave a new generation an understanding and appreciation for computer programming with jousting turkeys compelled by programming commands to charge at one another with meat thermometers.

30 of Days of Gratitude: Day 17, 18 & 19

Day 17: I'm thankful for all forms of photography. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words and I am an historian by nature. I'm not the best photographer by any means, but I always strive to document. Time is so fleeting and memories fade much faster than a photograph.

Day 18: Photo projects! I love scrapbooking. I started way before it was cool and I'll probably be the only old lady in the nursing home with a drawer full of acid free pens and glue sticks. It started as a way to remember my senior year of high school and became a life long hobby. While I don't often have the time for scrapbooking since Riley was born I find all kind of other photo projects to work on. It's good way to de-stress while documenting./p>

Day 19: Milkshakes!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 16

Day 16: On Inside the Actor's Studio James Lipton always asks everyone, "What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?" No matter how long I run this house I am still an actress, but if I couldn't be an actress I could be a teacher (especially of children & I have been) or an event planner. I actually attempted to start an event planning business, but in the building-my-resume phase my wedding clients decided not to have one after all and that was the end of that. Nevertheless, I love having a party to throw. I can plan any event, but most often I get to do birthday parties for my kids.

I'm so grateful for creativity and resourcefulness! I'm very grateful for traditions, ceremonies and celebrations! I'm grateful for my children's enthusiasm about festivities. I'm grateful for Mike not only tolerating my party planning, but pitching in to make our crazy ideas come to life.

Walle/Robot Party 2008

Hedgehog Party 2010

Squid Party 2012

Minnie's Bow-tique Party 2012

(Today's) Space Party 2013

Not Pictured: Isaac's Celebration Station Party 2009 (featuring homemade "Space Tornado" cake), Riley-saurus-rex's Dinosaur Party 2011, Isaac's 1.21 gigga watt Back to the Future party 2011, or Miss Roo's My Little Pony party 2013.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 14 & 15

Day 14: I'm thankful for Surprises! Like Christmas morning OR being proposed to on Christmas morning out of a nesting doll that's composed of many hedgehogs! Surprises like when you do laundry and find more than pennies and sticky wrappers or band aids in the pants pockets. Surprises like when you pick up the phone to call someone and they're already on the line (do we still can them phone lines?). Surprises like having just enough wrapping paper for all your gifts or just enough eggs to make cookies without a trip to the store. Surprises like being wrong when you really hoped you were. Surprises like kind strangers in a busy store. Surprises like waking up to an avalanche of balloons on your birthday! Aren't they wonderful? I'm so grateful for surprises.

Day 15: I'm thankful for Isaac! I only had one pregnancy, but I have two children. Isaac and I met when he was 5yrs old. In some ways it's astonishing that we don't actually share DNA! He's very social and incredibly emotional and dramatic, but I promise he came that way. He never ceases to surprise me with his singular perception and interpretation of the world. He has always been a source of entertainment for sure.

More important than the ways we're alike though are the ways he's so very different than I am. The ways he challenges me as a parent and a person to perceive/communicate/cope/engage/teach differently than I normally would. He forces me outside my comfort zone in a good way. He is part Mike, part me, part alien from another planet. He composes and invents in his head all the time and only shares glimpses of it with us now and then.

He's eleven today. I can't believe it! I was just teaching him to swing by himself and tie his shoes. I know that any minute now he'll be too cool for me and I'm so grateful for the movie nights, puzzles, trips down the nature trail, traveling and adventures we've had together. There isn't another kid like him on this planet.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 12 & 13

Day Twelve: Date Night:

I'm thankful for date nights! Yes, typically it goes just like the opening of the movie Date Night with us rallying our tired selves out the door to go to one of three restaurants and shuffling back home to fall asleep by 9:30pm. The conversation over dinner usually centers around the kids, but at least we're out. On a recent Bob's Burgers episode they come home from date night to find their pajama clad kids teasing them "Whoa 8:30! Where have you two been the whole town's out looking for you." Shortly after Linda says she's going to bed because she tired from "painting the town beige." Anyway, I laugh because it's true. Mike and I are boring old married people, but that's ok.

It's ok because we enjoy each other's company. It's ok because we'll never be sorry we spent so much time with our kids or invested so much time and energy into their childhoods. It is also important to invest in our relationship date night style now and then. Mike and I love each other and, short of asking him to go skydiving for date night, he'd do almost anything I asked for our occasional nights out. Even musical theater by a touring company based on a ten year-old Will Ferrell movie!

I'm thankful for the chance to get out of the house with my husband. I'm grateful for the chance to see some live theatre. I'm grateful to have someone I trust to get the kids fed and to bed on a school night. I'm grateful to Groupon for the deal on tickets. I'm grateful for wheelchair seating. We had great seats! The show was fun, but a different animal than the movie for sure. I thought it was fun, but not fantastic. It was nice to go see a fun show all dressed up. To be out on a "school night." I know it's the last one for quite awhile because the holidays are coming and it's wall to wall events and lots of time off school for the kids. I'm so glad we got a night out!

Day Thirteen Crafts! Riley and some friends are going to sing turkey songs at a local nursing home this weekend. They have a few songs to sing and they're going to bring festive crafts to leave with the residents of the nursing home. Riley and I are making paper plate turkeys and hand print turkeys for the event.

I'm thankful for crafting. It's great de-stresser and sometimes great mother daughter bonding. I like doing crafts with and for the kids because it's supposed to look home made and each one is different. I think some people (ehem, Martha!) set the bar a little too high. I like to make it up as I go it's fun. So, here's to fun creative projects!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 11

Day Eleven: I'm grateful for that amazing moment you've been wishing for something and suddenly it's yours. It's happened to me a few times very recently. Maybe it's the abundance I was supposed to prepare for. God always has a way of putting what I need (whether I understand that I need it or not)right in my path. Ala my husbands shoes I tend to trip right over what I need most. People, opportunities, things I've been blessed my fair share of times. I've survived and thrived because of these blessings.

Aside from the things I need there are things not so crucial to my survival I wish for too. Recently, I found myself thinking, "I need a night out with my husband." Soon after, cue my friend sending me a Groupon for half price tickets to a musical. Viola! Date night achieved. Last week I took stock of kid's new Christmas clothes and find myself frustrated by Isaac's lack of dress shoes. A few days later a 60% sale yields dress shoes in his size. Hurray! Now he'll be dapper head to toe. I was chatting with my cousin after sending her some Disney Rewards codes a few days ago. It turned out we both wanted to take our daughters to the new Disney movie. We have similar budgets so we were discussing the possibility of scoring free tickets. I told her that Disney was offering them, but we already owned all the movies containing those codes. I was keeping my eye out for any deals, but I wasn't feeling very hopeful dispute the times I've been successful in the past. A few days later I got a notification about a free advanced screening of of Frozen next week! I held my breath crossed my fingers and there were tickets left! I even sent my cousin the link and she scored two as well! It's a bit of a drive, but it'll be a lot of fun.

I feel incredibly blessed that so many of my wants and needs are being met lately. I'm a lucky girl. It's possible that preparing for abundance simply meant to start perceiving the blessings all around me.

30 Days of Gratitude: Days 8, 9, & 10

Day 8: I'm grateful for bad jokes! Like milk through the nose in front of a crowded lunch table stuff. The jokes that reassured you that your once charming boyfriend had truly transformed into someone's dad (oh, the puns!). Those terrible jokes that snap you out of reality for just a moment. The jokes that really should be followed by wah-waaah, but you're so taken aback you laugh. You're not really laughing at at the joke, but at the person who actually said that out loud! Those jokes.

Day 9: I'm grateful for dress up clothes and the silly girls who wear them!

Day 10: Childhood best friends! Honestly, what would we do without them? You'd never make it to adulthood without them. I feel as blessed by my own as I do by my children's. I mean, is there anything more wonderful? No judgments, no expectations just fun and silliness. Just thinking about it makes me want to watch The Sandlot (or it could be the s'mores we had the other night-I'm thankful for them too).