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.

365 gratitude project: Days 269 - 282

Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on us, so we're all hunkered down and staying safe at home.  What a perfect time to catch up on my photo a day gratitude project!!!



Day 269 (Monday, September 24):

back at pottery class.

my happy place.

so grateful to have the time and 

place to make some pottery again.

 Day 270 (Tuesday, September 25):

look at all of those bubbles!

b read that beta fish blow bubble nests when they are happy,

so hopefully this means our little andrew

likes being a part of our family.

grateful for our new buddy.

 Day 271 (Wednesday, September 26):

sometimes i look up at the sky here in nyc

and what i see amazes me.

the architecture, the tall buildings -

it can be pretty beautiful.

this one i took on the corner of the block where i grew up,

so this is what i saw every day as a child when i looked up.

grateful to be surrounded by beauty.

Day 272 (Thursday, September 27):

i took l out to lunch 

at nespresso across the street from her school.

they have a very limited menu,

but we managed to have fun with our fancy food

and delicious drinks.

she loved her hot cocoa.

grateful for fun little dates.

 Day 273 (Friday, September 28):

my dad took us out to lunch at a little tea shop

which we have come to absolutely love.

and it's funny - i spend so much time in public restrooms

waiting for my little ladies

that i have started taking photos of what i see.

grateful for interesting floors and pretty tile work.

and lunch with my dad, of course!

 Day 274 (Saturday, September 29):

we went over to one of p's classmates' houses

for a family playdate and dinner,

and it was so nice.

the kids had a great time together,

writing nonsense and listening to the dads read it.

grateful for new friends and goofy games.

 Day 275 (Sunday, September 30):

l and i were walking to pick up a friend

before we went to a bday party.

the shadows on the street were pretty cool.

i absolutely love how this photo turned out.

grateful for unexpected moments.

Day 276 (Monday, October 1):

it was an unseasonably warm day,

so after school we went to the park.

the delicioso coco helado man was there

with his tasty treats, 

and we couldn't resist.

grateful for delicioso coco helado.

Day 277 (Tuesday, October 2):

there was a succos celebration at l's school,

and the sukkah in the main sanctuary was just amazing.

grateful for the chance to see something 

so beautiful and unusual with my little one.

Day 278 (Wednesday, October 3):

holy cow i love this photo.

again, here we are at our favorite little 

tea shop for lunch and dessert.

can you tell how happy she was to have this

cupcake in her hands?

so grateful for chocolate cupcakes!

Day 279 (Thursday, October 4):

we went to a party to celebrate the wedding

of a close friend from childhood.

it was so nice to see so many 

old friends whom i hadn't seen since high school.

and it was pretty cool when the pointer sisters

came out to sing a few songs.

grateful for a fun, happy night with old friends.

Day 280 (Friday, October 5):

off to richmond for the long weekend.

we had a long drive, 

but we were all so excited to see our good friends

that we didn't care how long it took us.

and check out that sunset!

grateful for pretty sunsets.

Day 281 (Saturday, October 6):

in richmond.

had a fun little bday party for p

and saw so many friends.

lots of laughs and smiling from everyone.

here i was, in our room at our friends' house,

so happy to be there and with these lovely people.

and bk set out hydrangeas for us.

isn't she adorable?

grateful for our incredible pals down south.

Day 282 (Sunday, October 7):

the weather was cool and rainy,

so we decided an afternoon of pumpkin decorating

and carving would be perfect.

b carved this pumpkin 

a) because spiders are spooky 

and

b) as an homage to the good old richmond spiders.

grateful for our old hometown.

365 gratitude project: Days 265 - 268

Day 265 (Thursday, September 20):

i am very grateful for soulcycle and the fun workout it provides.

it's always a better day when i get to go.

and another for today,

just because i feel like it:

look at this incredible architecture.

temple emanu-el is really beautiful,

and in nyc where it is so noisy and chaotic,

it is too easy to walk by 

without taking a moment to appreciate the beauty.

grateful for the beauty around me.

Day 266 (Friday, September 21):

it's been a rough few days/weeks.

i'm dealing with some pretty heavy emotional stuff

that will hopefully get better soon.

i feel like i am on an emotional roller coaster

and the craziness of nyc isn't helping.

thank goodness for these sweet girls

and their incredible daddy.

this day was particularly rough for me

and there were about 4,000 children 

at the playground after school.

yikes.

but the gals knew to stay close

and they were as sweet as could be.

so very incredibly grateful for p, l, and b.

they help me so much and give me so much love,

exactly what i needed on this day.

Day 267 (Saturday, September 22):

b and i went out alone!

i suggested we start with drinks 

on the roof of the metropolitan,

and it was perfect.

grateful for time alone with my husband

and trying new things.

Day 268 (Sunday, September 23):

would you look at this face painting?

we went to a birthday party 

and this incredibly talented man, derrick,

was painting faces.

we were all so sad when we had to wash p's face

at the end of the day.

grateful for derrick and his amazing talent.

i need to have a party so i can hire derrick

for the kids and me!

365 gratitude project: Days 253 - 264

Day 253 (Saturday, September 8):

we went to the moma to see some art.

the gals loved this large table and chairs.

thank goodness for something in the museum

that the kids could actually touch!

grateful for moma and art.

 Day 254 (Sunday, September 9):

meet andrew.

our new beta fish.

after schlepping the girls to six open houses,

i decided that they deserved something special.

so how about a pet?

he's pretty cool, this andrew character.

grateful for our new pal and his awesome tail.

 Day 255 (Monday, September 10):

l is still phasing into her full school schedule

so we have lots of time to cavort together.

today we noticed that we both like sparkly shoes.

cute, huh?

grateful for fancy footwear.

Day 256 (Tuesday, September 11):

september 11th and all of the memories.

lucky to have such a sweet little family.

and lucky to have more sparkly shoes.

wow, l and i do really like sparkles.

grateful for the simple things that make me smile.

also grateful for cool sidewalks that 

remind me of a miro painting.

Day 257 (Wednesday, September 12):

going through some major internal struggles,

and things are not exactly easy these days.

grateful for a quite moment with a book

and my little one nearby playing.

Day 258 (Thursday, September 13):

opening night party and tour at p's school

and we were so excited to see the building.

of course we snuck off to spend some time in her classroom

and there was her writing,

just as she had told us about earlier in the day.

grateful for school and learning

and sweet little handwriting.

 Day 259 (Friday, September 14):

love this photo!

we took a little driving tour around brooklyn

after picking b up from work.

grateful to learn about new places

and capture quiet corners while at a red light.

Day 260 (Saturday, September 15):

i love farmer's markets

and this crew loves pickles, so what could be better?

pickles on a stick!

grateful for markets and pickles on a stick.

Day 261 (Sunday, September 16):

at my parents' for rash hashanah dinner.

before dinner 

the gals decided to put on

a little pre-dinner show for everyone.

it was a silent ballet at first.

no music, no singing, no talking.

then i put on some beyonce

and they totally rocked out.

grateful for dancing and beyonce.

Day 262 (Monday, September 17):

l and p spent the night with my parents on sunday night

after our rosh hashanah dinner at their place.

after b and i had returned home to an eerily quiet apt,

the phone rang and it was little l,

at 10:45pm,

saying she wanted to come home.

sweet girl.

she ended up staying up and watching a movie

with my mom in my parents' bed

while p slept in my old room with my dad.

needless to say, everyone was tired after that night.

we had a required rest/nap time at our place,

and these two were so adorable completely passed out

next to one another.

so so so grateful for naps.

Day 263 (Tuesday, September 18):

the only photo that i took today.

p and i were waiting to pick up l from school.

i guess it is now obvious that l is lucy.

our sweet little apple.

grateful for happy times at school.

Day 264 (Wednesday, September 19):

bedtime for the ladies.

love this book.

love watching them cuddle and listen to daddy's voice.

grateful for good books

and bedtime!