30 days of Thankful catchup

November 7th: Leah: You know that saying about the cobbler's children not having shoes? The same sentiment applies to photographers. Sure I have plenty of pictures of my boys. But pictures of all of us together? They exist in self portrait attempts inside my phone. They're not very good. But thanks to Leah's skill and patience, we now have a real portrait of our family of four. So very thankful!

November 8th: Mrs. P: AJ loves his "new school" with his "new teachers" and his "new friends."He likes to sing me the Goodbye song, and tell me how "Mrs special" (AJ's approximation of his teacher's name) does the hand motions for Wheels on the Bus. I am thankful that he's in a good place, with a teacher who is learning how best to reach my little dude. Also thankful for the days when she tells me that he had "no TOs" (time outs) and especially thankful for the days when she comments on his desire to be a big helper.

November 9th: Steve: My brother has the uncanny ability to send me a text message exactly when I need it. Sometimes it's a picture of his pumpkin spice latte to make me jealous, other times it's one of those silly animal pictures you see on the internet. Whatever it is, I love it, and seeing his name pop up makes me smile. Hate that we are so far apart, but thankful that we have modern technology to keep us close together.

November 10th: For Facebook: Sometimes life as a stay at home mom is incredibly isolating. My mornings are spent running AJ to school. My afternoons are spent managing nap time, running errands, and figuring out what in the world these people in my family are going to eat for dinner. Sometimes, especially when Karl is traveling, Facebook is my only "connection" to the outside world. I'm thankful for the chance to catch up with old friends around the world from my little phone screen!

November 11th: For Veterans: I am continually blown away by those who make the choice to serve our country. That kind of bravery, not just from the soldier, but also from those who love him or her enough to support the decision, is just amazing to me. I look at my boys and wonder if that's a decision they will ever make and I pray that I will someday have the strength to support them if that is their dream.

November 12th: My Row: These girls have been sitting with me every Monday night for almost 2 years. In that time, I've had 3 pregnancies (resulting in one amazing Sammy) and they've been kicking butt and taking names in the weight loss department. Mary is down over 125lbs. Katie and Karrie are both in the over 75lbs lost range. They are faithful friends who are there to laugh with me, cry with me, and mutter "mmm donuts" when someone else in the meeting mentioned the opening of Dunkin Donuts nearby

November 13th Barb: What can I say? Really? We lived 5 minutes from each other but didn't actually meet until I walked up to her at CHA with a totally awkward "Are you Barb Novak?" She's been the first person (other than medical professionals and Karl) to hold both my babies. She once stored fertility drugs in her fridge for me. She brought me cinnamon rolls when I threw my back out and cupcakes at the hospital when I was finally free of the gestational diabetes. We've cooked up many schemes. We've channeled Julia Child. We've baked our way into a sugar coma. We've gone on adventures. We've snickered through yoga classes. We've been patrons of the arts (and dinner). The fact that she isn't living five minutes away anymore breaks my heart, but also makes me so proud of her for wanting better for herself. So very thankful for the years we had as neighbors and so very glad we are still close enough to plan dates.Like breakfast on Saturday!

November 14th: For Nap Time: It doesn't happen often, but on the rare day that the stars align and both boys decide to close their eyes at the same time? The angels sing and this mama is a happy, happy girl. My favorite nap days are when I can pretend there aren't things I should really be doing with that quiet time and sleep a little bit myself. Today was one of those days. And it was definitely something to be thankful for.

November 15th: For Netflix: several episodes of Army Wives were watched today in between runs to the bathroom and restless sleep. Thankful for the distraction of a pretend world when real life sucks.

November 16th: For Health: also known as thankful that 24 hour bugs only last 24 hours. Thankful for hot showers to wash off the sickies and the hot cycle on the washing machine to disinfect the sheets. Thankful for immodium and gatorade and saltine crackers. Thankful that as of this moment I was the only one in the family to catch the bug and thankful that as a whole I very rarely get sick. And to be filed under: silver lining: I'm down 6lbs in 48 hours. Certainly won't stay that way once I'm rehydrated, but man was that a shock to see.