365 gratitude project: Days 302 - 336

It's time to catch up!  I know 2012 is over, but better late than never.



Day 302 (Saturday, October 27):

we went to a fun 

little orchestra society concert

and we all had fun.

afterwards, buzz the bee read a book

and you can see the gals' heads in the foreground -

they were lovin' it.

grateful for these concerts.

 Day 303 (Sunday, October 28):

hurricane sandy was rolling in slowly,

but p had a birthday party to go to.

we went, we had fun, she practiced her gymnastics,

and she nailed it on the bar.

grateful for fun afternoons with my big girl

and her smile.

Day 304 (Monday, October 29):

we were hunkering down with sandy coming,

so we started a gratefulness list.

i'm not sure the girls really understood

because they started looking around our apartment,

saying anything that caught their attention.

we will continue to work on cultivating gratefulness.

grateful for so much.

Day 305 (Tuesday, October 30):

hurricane sandy is keeping us indoors,

so we're getting ready for halloween tomorrow.

we made these cute little ghosts with a potato stamp,

and i love how our banner turned out.

grateful for crafting and halloween!

Day 306 (Wednesday, October 31):

it's halloween and sweet p is sick.

she has a fever and just feels icky,

but it's halloween.

so she managed to get into her costume

for 10 minutes of trick or treating

before asking us to take her home.

poor thing.

grateful that she was able to celebrate a bit.

little sis, on the other hand,

was as healthy as could be,

and all she wanted to do 

was eat candy all night long.

grateful for my funny girl asking,

"please, just one more piece, momma."

Day 307 (Thursday, Nov. 1):

we had a mellow day

because school is still closed because of sandy

and p still isn't feeling well.

but big daddy had the idea of going to the lego store.

it was crazy and crowded, 

but it was a fun outing for the day.

grateful for legos.

Day 308 (Friday, Nov. 2):

everyone is going a bit crazy

from spending so much time at home.

but doesn't she just look like

a sweet angel in this photo?

and you see the blur in the background?

that's p jumping and dancing 

like a wild one.

grateful for my girls and time together.

Day 309 (Saturday, Nov. 3):

we wanted to donate some things

to the hurricane sandy relief,

so we bought supplies and headed out

to the corner of 85th and 2nd.

it was so nice to see how many people

were there helping, donating, volunteering.

grateful for this community of people

coming together to help.

Day 310 (Sunday, Nov. 4):

i woke up, rolled over,

and this was what i saw.

what a sweet way to wake up.

grateful for happy mornings.

Day 311 (Monday, Nov. 5):

as i was getting into bed,

i found these two resting on the windowsill.

the gals decided to hide

our 6 little pumpkins around the apartment

for giggles.

grateful for funny little games that keep the girls happy.

Day 312 (Tuesday, Nov. 6):

election day!

but holy cow,

would you just look at this crowd!

it was a total mess,

and this was only half of the line.

and p didn't have school so she was with me.

yikes.

luckily, we got through in about an hour.

grateful for p's patience and the ability to vote!

sweet girl.

at least the voting line didn't get her down.

i love her spunk.

grateful for a day alone with my big girl.

Day 313 (Wednesday, Nov. 7):

snow?

this early.

huh...

grateful for fun little surprises.

Day 314 (Thursday, Nov. 8):

how can she keep such a straight face?

so adorable.

grateful for those silly glasses and nose.

Day 315 (Friday, Nov. 9):

she is reading!

p has been working her tail off, 

learning to read and catch up with 

her classmates in first grade.

i am so proud of her and her hard work.

grateful that my girl is reading and will pick up 

a book on her own.  what a big step.

 Day 316 (Saturday, Nov. 10):

walking to the playground,

p wanted to read.

at one point i told her she had to stop reading

so she wouldn't bump into anyone.

i realized what i said,

and quickly told her to ignore it

and keep on reading.

grateful for this moment.

 Day 317 (Sunday, Nov. 11):

i had a great day at the studio.

hooray.

i absolutely adore pottery 

and wish i could do it every day.

grateful for my time with my wheel and clay.

Day 318 (Monday, Nov. 12):

p didn't have school

but l did,

so i had a day with my big girl.

it was a beautiful day,

we had fun at the park,

and i just wish we had more days like this.

so grateful for this fun time alone with p.

Day 319 (Tuesday, Nov. 13):

holiday decorations are going up.

l and i noticed the trees

on madison avenue

as we were walking home after school.

nyc can be crazy,

but it looks so beautiful when the 

holiday decorations are all over.

grateful for festive decorations.

Day 320 (Wednesday, Nov. 14):

i was on my way home

and passed the met.

what a beautiful building,

and the way it was lit made it 

even more stunning.

grateful to be surrounded

by such beauty in nyc.

Day 321 (Thursday, Nov. 15):

a fun night with high school friends,

and some tasty white wine.

not sure why i took a photo of the wine

but not my sweet friends.

oh well.

grateful for time to catch up with old pals

over a glass of wine.

Day 322 (Friday, Nov. 16):

the girls can get a little crazy in the bath.

not sure how they ended up in this position,

but their giggles and smiles were priceless.

grateful for happy moments like this one.

Day 323 (Satuday, Nov. 17):

i love weekend mornings.

no rushing anywhere, extra sleep,

hanging in our pajamas.

i was just waking up,

and p brought her art kit into our room.

she sat their and drew for about 45 minutes.

such sweet company.

grateful for saturday mornings.

Day 324 (Sunday, Nov. 18):

p has been writing a lot at school,

so we find notes everywhere.

she wrote the one on the left.

l wants to be just like her big sis,

so she "wrote" her own note

(the one on the right).

grateful for little notes around the house.

Day 325 (Monday, Nov. 19):

p has become more interested in art,

and this is her plum tree.

she came home so excited to show me

and so proud of her work.

i love it!

grateful for p's interest in art

and seeing how proud she was.

 Day 326 (Tuesday, Nov. 20):

we had to bake two pies for p's school's

thanksgiving lunch.

normally, b is the baker in our house,

but i gave it a try.

and, if i do say so myself, i did really well!

it looked and tasted great!

grateful for a successful experiment!

Day 327 (Wednesday, Nov. 21):

p's class had a thanksgiving presentation,

and here is my girl,

reading her card, telling us about the first thanksgiving.

i can't believe how big she is.

wow, she really is growing up.

grateful to see this sweet girl growing

in so many ways.

Day 328 (Thursday, Nov. 22):

thanksgiving!

so we went to see the parade,

before we leave to see family in north carolina.

p had a great spot,

sitting up high, 

able to see it all.

l also had a good spot,

up on daddy's shoulders.

what a beautiful day,

running back home

 through the park.

so grateful for my sweet family

and our fun times together.

Day 329 (Friday, Nov. 23):

we were happily in north carolina,

ready to celebrate thanksgiving

with b's family.

the girls wore matching dresses

and decided it was a pigtail kind of day.

our delicious meal!

we celebrate a day late,

on friday,

with b's family,

and it is always delicious and lovely.

grateful for fun family times

and such great food!

Day 330 (Saturday, Nov. 24):

big p and little g

got away from the crowd downstairs

and were having a grand old time together.

cousins are the best!

grateful for cousins, old and young!

Day 331 (Sunday, Nov. 25):

we woke up at 4:30

for our 6:15am flight.

ugh.

but holy cow, watching the sun rise

was just incredible.

so quiet, beautiful and peaceful.

grateful for this unexpected moment.

Day 332 (Monday, Nov. 26):

we needed something fun

after such a great weekend,

so i decided it was time to buy our tree!

yes, christmas is still weeks away,

but why wait?

strong b carried the tree home - 

such a quintessential nyc thing.

grateful for trees on the corner and my strong hubby.

Day 333 (Tuesday, Nov. 27):

we dropped p at school,

and got to her school early.

so we sat down, chatted, and 

had a lovely time.

when the mornings so smoothly,

it is absolutely wonderful.

grateful for these nice times in the morning.

Day 334 (Wednesday, Nov. 28):

the gals went to bed,

and they left a mess on the sofa.

but it was the best possible mess.

i love that my girls love our collection of books.

grateful for picture books

and that the girls enjoy them too.

Day 335 (Thursday, Nov. 29):

my latest finished pottery.

i love it when things turn out.

grateful for these pieces that look pretty good.

 Day 336 (Friday, Nov. 30):

a house near our apartment

goes all out with the holiday decorations,

and the girls loved it!

so did b!

and i love that he has a pizza and soda

in his hands.

another nyc moment.

365 gratitude project: Days 297 - 301

Day 297 (Monday, October 22):

this one is amazing.  truly priceless.

when i picked l up from school today,

she handed me this drawing.

i thanked her for it,

and when we got home i really looked at it

and i asked her what it was a picture of.

her response: "a pickle walking."

love it.

so so so grateful for "a pickle walking."

 Day 298 (Tuesday, October 23):

i couldn't decide between one of these awesome photos,

so i had to include them both.

the gals had a blast trying on my new shoes,

and their poses were pretty incredible.

grateful for my sassy ladies

and how much fun new shoes provide!

Day 299 (Wednesday, October 24):

p is learning how to jump rope at school

and she absolutely loves it.

so after dinner,

we decided to take a little break and go for a walk.

p brought her jump rope,

and after almost taking out a few people with it

we relocated to a little plaza thing next to our apartment

where we wouldn't hit anyone.

i loved watching her go back and forth,

"skipping rope" as she calls it.

grateful for jumping rope.

Day 300 (Thursday, October 25):

we came home from playing with a friend,

and p immediately got to work on this drawing.

one of her friends always draws underwater scenes,

so she made this for him.

on the back she wrote

"you are my bff."

so sweet.

grateful for my thoughtful girl

and her growing interest in art!

Day 301 (Friday, October 26):

papi met me at l's school to pick her up

and take us out to lunch.

what a guy.

we had to wait for a table at our usual place,

so we sat outside,

and l read him a book.

it's so sweet to see how much they love each other.

grateful for the smiles and joy they bring one another.

365 gratitude project: Days 283 - 296

Ok, so I am still way behind, but I've been taking at least one photo every day so I am not giving up!  Here are two more weeks worth:


Day 283 (Monday, October 8):

before we left richmond,

we met up with these cuties for some more fun together.

what sweet boys.

we miss them and their lovely parents.

so grateful to have become friends

with such a nice family.

Day 284 (Tuesday, October 9):

back home and back to work!

p has homework now that she is in first grade,

and while i sometimes wish we could blow it off

and snuggle and play,

we try to keep on top of it.

she is working so hard and has been doing so well

with her reading and writing.

grateful for my little hard-worker!

 Day 285 (Wednesday, October 10):

on the west side for a change,

and while waiting at the bus stop,

i looked up.

holy beautiful!

incredible architecture, no?

grateful to see things like this every day.

Day 286 (Thursday, October 11):

before i went to bed

i decorated the apartment

because p turn 6 tomorrow!

i love making a big deal of my girls' birthdays,

and i'm sort of in shock that she will be 6.

wow.

time flies.

i can't wait to give her a big birthday

hug and kiss.

grateful for my big girl.

Day 287 (Friday, October 12):

l and i picked p up from school with this balloon in our hands.

did i mention i like making a big deal of birthdays?

she was so happy and smiley -

it was perfect.

happy birthday, sweet p.

you are a lovely, kind, funny, goofy, sweet girl

and i am so lucky to be your momma.

grateful for p.

Day 288 (Saturday, October 13):

after a fun family dinner last night

for p's birthday,

it was nice to go out tonight just with b.

we had some delicious food and drinks

at a favorite local mexican restaurant,

and we just sat and talked.

so nice.

grateful for a date with my hubby.

 Day 289 (Sunday, October 14):

my brother gave us his tickets to the yankee game,

so b and i went while my parents watched the girls.

another date night (well, afternoon and night!)!

the yankees lost, but we had a great time,

and on the packed subway ride home

i laughed like i haven't in a long time.

we were packed in, 

everyone pressed up against one another

(which sounds completely awful, right?),

but it was so funny you just had to laugh.

grateful for our packed subway ride home

and good belly laughs.

Day 290 (Monday, October 15):

walking up to pottery class,

i pass this odd plant sculpture thing

in front of a store on madison avenue.

i still can't quite figure out what it is

or what the store sells,

but i like it.

grateful for strange things on the streets of nyc.

Day 291 (Tuesday, October 16):

l came with me when i took p for her 6 year check up,

and everything was great.

after the appointment i decided to take the girls

to their favorite japanese restaurant for an early dinner,

and it was fun.

a little date for me and my girls.

grateful for our little ladies night.

Day 292 (Wednesday, October 17):

we dropped p off at school

and had some time to kill before l had to be at school.

so we stopped at starbucks,

bought a nice latte for me 

and a hot chocolate for her,

and continued on our way.

grateful for our morning stroll.

Day 293 (Thursday, October 18):

parents' night at l's school!

the teachers showed a little slide show

(b and i looked at each other wondering

where one gets slides made any more!),

and there was our sweet little girl and her friends.

i loved that peak into her school days.

grateful for the slide show.

Day 294 (Friday, October 19):

we got home

and l needed some lunch,

so i made her a sandwich as she asked.

this is what was left on her plate.

grateful for bread sculptures.

 Day 295 (Saturday, October 20):

we had a great morning

visiting with family friends who were in from london and la.

then l had a birthday party to go to.

so there she was, in her party dress,

in the foam pit.

i was immediately brought back to my childhood

and the gymnastics class i took where we could go 

in a similar foam (or maybe it was balls?) pit.

such fun!

grateful for foam/ball pits!

Day 296 (Sunday, October 21):

there was an ice-skating fund raiser today

for p's school.

i was dreading going

(terrible attitude, I know),

but it was a lot of fun

and in the end, 

we all enjoyed it.

grateful for ice skating and learning new skills.