365 gratitude project: Days 147 and 148

Day 147 (Friday, May 25):

ended up having a wisdom tooth pulled at 3:30pm

 on the friday before memorial day weekend.

i was a nervous wreck.

in tears and scared beyond belief.

and you know what?  it really wasn't bad.

i am so grateful for the extremely kind and talented doctor

and her fantastic team of nurses and assistants.

they gave me halcion to calm me down,

 a chobani so i wouldn't be hungry, and covered me with a nice, warm blanket.

Day 148 (Saturday, May 26):

i was in bed, recovering, and my sweet nurses

came in for a wrestle break beside me.

the three of them love to wrestle.

i'm talking serious wrestling here - 

the kind that leaves welts and red marks all over their bodies.

and they love it.

so grateful for these three taking such good care of me!

and grateful that no one got hurt.

What I'm Reading: Night by Elie Wiesel

I just read Night by Elie Wiesel, and it was amazing.  It is a true story about Wiesel's time as a child spent in concentration camps.  I don't want to give anything away, but I really couldn't put it down.  To hear the story and imagine what this young boy must have been going through is absolutely captivating.  To see what he saw, experience what he did, and to survive it all is just incredible. I highly recommend it.

Next up for me is Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  This came highly recommended by a few people, so I am looking forward to it.  

365 gratitude project: Days 144 - 146

Day 144 (Tuesday, May 22):

my sweet ladies before camp.

i love the summer, when their cute little bodies are covered by a bathing suit,

and they are running around having fun like wild banshees.

this photo sums up their moods perfectly, too: l was excited and ready to go to camp,

and p was nervous and feeling a bit scared.

such sweet girls.  

so grateful for them and their unique personalities.

Day 145 (Wednesday, May 23):

we switched bedrooms so that we can sell our king bed

(which will not fit in our nyc apartment).

last night i was extremely grateful for my iphone and it's convenience

as i hadn't taken any photos all day long, and i really didn't want to miss one day.

phew.

Day 146 (Thursday, May 24):

love this moment.

we have a big lavender bush that has grown like mad over the last few weeks,

and every time we come home we notice lots of bees on the purple flowers.

well, to get to our front door, we need to pass this lavender

which makes the girls (okay, all of us) a little nervous to be so close to so many bees.

so how did the girls solve the problem?

l jumps into p's arms, and p carries her up on the grass to the front door.

they call this position "koala" 

because l wraps her legs tightly around p.

it makes me laugh every time i hear p say, "koala, l" 

and l knows exactly what to do.

sisters. 

grateful that they have one another.

I am going to figure out how to make a book of this little 365 gratitude project of mine.  Anyone know an easy way to do this?  Ideas?  Suggestions?  I'm excited that I'm almost at day 150, but wow, time is flying by!

365 gratitude project: Days 137 - 143

Day 137 (Tuesday, May 15):

the girls loved their gymnastics class,

and we are sad that it is over.

we are all extremely grateful for the fun they had

and their fantastic teachers!

Day 138 (Wednesday, May 16):

at the end of the year party,

the kids in l's class showed us some of their dance moves.

you have got to see this cutie pie doing the chicken dance.

it totally brightened up my day.

grateful for the chicken dance.

b was able to come to the party, too,

so we were grateful for that!

oh, and can you tell what a fantastic hugger l is?

her hugs are just incredible,

so i am always grateful for those sweet hugs from that sweet girl.

 Day 139 (Thursday, May 17):

this was the end of the year party for p's class.

so happy that she had such a great year

with the best teachers.

we were all there and happy to celebrate our big kids

who are "graduating" from nursery school.

grateful for the red room and my sweet goofball!

Day 140 (Friday, May 18):

after p's graduation, we went outside and the kids had fun posing for photos.

feeling very grateful for sweet friends and my silly girls.

i'm still not sure why l was standing so far to the side, but i love it!

another post-graduation photo.

so incredibly grateful to have a photo of me with my big girl.

i can't believe she is going to 1st grade!

Day 141 (Saturday, May 19):

after 10 hours in the car the previous day, we were all grateful to be in new paltz

for auntie c's graduation.

the girls were so great in the car - we really are so lucky.

grateful to find a fantastic tree swing!

loving swing time.

deep in thought on the swing.

we walked around the campus a bit and found some ducks to watch.

grateful that these four ducklings hung out for a bit.

also grateful that l didn't fall in the water!

Day 142 (Sunday, May 20):

there was a hammock at the house where my in-laws were staying.

i was grateful to have a few minutes in that lovely hammock with my little lady.

Day 143 (Monday, May 21):

on the road back to richmond.

again, the girls were fantastic in the car.

grateful that we opened the windows for some crazy, windy, fun times.

365 gratitude project: Day 136

Day 136 (Monday, May 14):

so happy to see our hydrangeas blooming,

slowly but surely.

what a lovely sight.

i can't wait until they are ready to be snipped and brought inside

to brighten our home and make us smile.

365 gratitude project: Days 130 - 135

Day 130 (Tuesday, May 8):

very grateful for bowling.

we won a bowling party for p with her teachers and some friends.

l and i tagged along because l had yet to experience the magic.

it's official - we all love bowling.

Day 131 (Wednesday, May 9):

we made a banner for my mom for mother's day,

and these little art projects make me so happy.

i love that the girls and i do this together,

and the recipients usually enjoy them too!

Day 132 (Thursday, May 10):

after the playground we decided to go out for dinner.

the girls rarely hold hands, so i was so happy to see this.

i am so incredibly grateful for the sweet moments that these two love muffins share.

Day 133 (Friday, May 11):

about to get into bed and realized i didn't take any photos!

but then i looked at my bedside tables and saw the above.

i am so happy to have so many great books waiting to be read.

Day 134 (Saturday, May 12):

some good friends threw us a little going away party,

and it was such a great evening.

the kids were running around, having a blast.

the adults were eating, drinking, and laughing.

it was a really fun night and i felt so lucky to be surrounded by friends.

and beautiful flowers in mason jars!

 Day 135 (Sunday, May 13):

mother's day.

it was so sweet and fun,

and it started with coffee in bed and a delicious breakfast prepared by p, l, and b.

then b gave me a beautiful bracelet - see above.

and as much as i love the bracelet,

the best gift was a video that they made for me.

i was bawling like a baby.

A Pretty Accessory

Look at these gorgeous water bottles:

It's a glass bottle with a silicone sleeve in beautiful colors, and you can find them here for $28.  (Yes, it's pricey for a water bottle, but if you carry your own water, you will never have to buy another bottle of water again.)

365 gratitude project: Day 129

Day 129 (Monday, May 7):

sweet girl.

we are all happy that b's soccer season is over

 so we're able to be together in the afternoons and evenings.

on this day, we took a nice little family stroll after dinner,

and p loved smelling the magnolia in a friend's tree.

very grateful for such a nice evening with my family.

365 gratitude project: Days 126 - 128

Day 126 (Friday, May 4):

so grateful for a night out with another couple, 

a double date.

the food was delicious, the conversation was funny and real - 

it was a great evening spent eating and laughing.

Day 127 (Saturday, May 5):

thank goodness for 1) carnivals and 2) cotton candy.

the girls had so much fun at their school's carnival,

and by the end they were both a sweaty and sticky mess.

it was perfect.

Day 128 (Sunday, May 6):

such sweet friends that we are so lucky to have.

these boys are just the sweetest,

and they helped us with our yard sale all day long.

we are very grateful to have these sweetie pies in our lives.

(if my girls end up marrying them i will be one happy momma.)

365 gratitude project: Day 125

Day 125 (Thursday, May 3):

we went to one of our favorite little bookstores, bbgb,

to chose some birthday gifts for friends.

this little store always makes me happy,

and we always find a great book to bring home and share.

i am very grateful for this place, and i will miss it when we move.

thanks for being so great, bbgb!

on our way out:

365 gratitude project: Days 123 & 124

Day 123 (Tuesday, May 1):

my girls love new art supplies.

these girl notecards made them so happy,

and hopefully they will make our friends and family happy when they receive them.

very grateful for these lovely little art moments.

Day 124 (Wednesday, May 2):

i must admit, bathtime is usually not my favorite.

everyone is tired and sometimes cranky, especially me.

but on this evening, the gals were playing, hugging, and giggling.

gratitude fills me for happy, content moments like this one.

365 gratitude project: Day 122

Day 122 (Monday, April 30):

so grateful for temporary tattoos.

my girls never get tired of them.

and they always want me to put one (or two... or three) on too.

they love them and can't get enough of them,

and i must admit, it's fun feeling like a bit of a badass occasionally.

yup, that's right, i've got a tattoo of strawberries and stars on the inside of my wrist.

not what you expected from this stay at home mom, huh?