20 Things I Am Grateful For These Two Weeks

Ever have those insanely busy weekends where the days seem both unbelievably long and all-too short? That was definitely last weekend for me. From Thursday to Sunday, we did something with my husband's family every night, and essentially all of Saturday was spent preparing for, having, and cleaning up after my son's fourth birthday party--and I loved every minute of it.

If you haven't guessed yet, said busy-ness, and the fact that I now have three days left in the school year, prevented me from posting last week. I hope you missed me!

1. Family
2. My creativity
3. My always appreciative and demonstrative son
4. An over-indulgent husband to shop for groceries
5. Family and friends to help Brannon celebrate his special day
6. Grandparents and great-grandparents
7. Water play
8. The entire Nelson family
9. One week left in school
10. Supportive administrators
11. Intelligent, articulate, and literate parents
12. Being a teacher and loving it (usually)
13. Self-confidence
14. Family togetherness
15. Sharing once-in-a-lifetime moments
16. A communicative and patient pre-school teacher
17. Improvement in my son's social and tracing skills
18. Hope for the future
19. My husband's dedication to school
20. A welcoming home for all my loved ones

20 Reasons I Love Being A Mom

20 Reasons I LOVE being a mom:

one: company

two: unexpected humor

three: progress

four: naptime

five: surprises

six: innocence

seven: grandparents

eight: freedom

nine: curiosity

ten: What the...? moments

eleven: sweet ignorance

twelve: quiet moments

thirteen: Christmas

fourteen: growing up

fifteen: mischief

sixteen: cousins

seventeen: Halloween

eighteen: playfulness

nineteen: aunts & uncles

twenty: traditions

And the list could go on and on...

Mom-dom

I am making a commitment to keep my laptop closed and do "mom things" for the rest of the weekend. I don't know what my husband and son have planned for Mother's Day--if anything--but I am going to celebrate by being the best mom I can be--at least for the weekend. For me, that mostly means spending less time on the computer and more time playfully chasing after my son (and our new puppy).

Have a great Mother's Day!

20 Things I Am Grateful For This Week

Sometimes I get frustrated because I can't publish a post when I want to--but then I remember this pledge to myself: "Live a life worth blogging about."

1. Recognition for a job well-done
2. The fulfillment of being a mother
3. Opportunities to connect with people I have never met before
4. Friends who give great advice--even if I don't want to hear it
5. Old friends who keep in touch
6. My time as a church nursery leader
7. Getting at least one final day with our nursery class
8. Yard art
9. Learning to let go and make peace instead of trying to make a point
10. Continuing to whisper instead of yell--at least more often than I used to
11. Compliments!
12. Inspiration!
13. Attention!
14. Moderate culinary success
15. Love
16. Patience
17. Understanding
18. The improvement & determination of my students
19. Raising the bar & standing by my instruction
20. Learning new skills

Work it, girl!

My first outfit as a contributor to Work Your Wardrobe was posted today. Check it out if you get a chance:

The Budding Photographer

Sometimes, time-outs can be productive. Recently, Brannon used one of his to rediscover the cheap, old digital camera we let him use "to refine his craft." (In case your wondering, it was in his toy box, buried under his stuffed animals. Brannon discovered this by removing every. single. stuffed. animal.)

In the time that has followed, Brannon has spent much of his free time building his portfolio and trying to learn the lesson that cameras, while fun, are not toys, and therefore should not be banged on the kitchen table when they "don't work."

Here is what he has turned out so far:

Call me an idiot if you must, but handing that camera over to him has made his spring, and I don't regret it. He has even started to show improvement in using the camera correctly (in other words, far fewer finger shots). Is it too early to start calling him the next Ansel Adams? Yeah, you're right. I'll wait until he's five.

Say cheese!