Daily: Reflect on 5 things for which I'm grateful.

Today I’m grateful for:
1. Finishing my pregnancy scrapbook! Woot!

2. Making puppy chow (you know, Chex mix with chocolate/PB, and shaken in powdered sugar)...yummmmy

3. Starting Piper’s “First Year” scrapbook. On a roll tonight.

4. Learning how to play poker. I am terrerrible. Yes, double sets of r’s. I’m THAT bad.

5. Hubby giving me a bath tonight :) He scrubbed my back and gave me a lovely head scrub while he washed my hair. Ahhh, so relaxing. It’s nice to feel like a kid again and have someone take care of you.

Today I’m grateful for:
1. Sleeping in again! Piper slept until 10:30 today. We’re reeeealllly hoping she just starts sleeping through the night like she has these last few nights. It makes a huge difference in our health and general perspective. You sure start appreciating sleep once you have a baby.

2. Spending the afternoon stringing popcorn and cranberries for the tree! One of my very favorite holiday activities. Hubby and I watched “The Dark Knight” (eh, kind of stupid. Batman sure is a mushmouth, huh?) and popped popcorn, dumped the cranberries in a big bowl, and sat on the floor together. Sadly, we worked for five hours and only half the tree is done :( Our tree is so fat.

3. Play time with Pipes. Got some more smiles out of her. She only smiles once or twice a day, so every single one is like a little golden nugget. Plus, I got to see her learning. She was on her play mat, and every time she hit her butterfly it would crinkle. I started kinda helping the crinkling along, and I noticed she would stop when it made the noise she wanted. At one point I crinkled for an extra long while, and she just sat and listened..then wound her arm back and batted at it once the noise stopped. She kind of looks at it out of the corner of her eye to see if it’s still moving, too. It’s dorky, but I was so proud! To see her thinking, analyzing, learning…it’s truly amazing.

4. Ate a waffle. With butter and syrup. And a huge glass of ice water. Sometimes you eat and it fills you up. Other times you eat and every bite is just yumtastic. This waffle really hit the spot.

5. Watching hubby sing and dance with Piper (today was certainly a Piper-filled day)...he’s so funny and animated. She gets his complete attention and I hope it sticks. I always felt overlooked and in the way around my parents. He counted her toesies, did the Macarena with her stubby arms, and then made lots of fart noises, which for some reason she loves. After which she fell promptly asleep. He sure knows how to pick his audiences :)

Today I’m grateful for:
1. Being woken up by hubby. He hopped out of bed, turned around, and said, “Today’s Christmas Tree Day! Aaaand it’s snowing!” I got to stretch and roll around like a sleepy kitty for a while. It was nice to wake up to him in such a jolly mood.

2. Found some awesomely awesome winter boots this morning. I had to return the ones I got because they were too heavy and clunky. But these ones are cute! Knee high, black, pseudo laceup but really zip up. Comfy too. And warm of course :)

3. Received my 43T card exchange address list from Flirt! I’m so excited to get started!

4. Picked out a beautiful tree at the tree farm. They even netted it for us and strapped it to the top of the car. Now the house smells like winter in Wisconsin. As it should. No fake crap for us, dammit! If I have to vacuum every day, I will.

5. Made egg salad sandwiches for lunch. We don’t use any onion or parsley in ours. It’s a very simple mix but soooo yummy! Ice cold egg salad on soft bread…nommy…

^{i had a wonderful day. i smiled all day long.}

Yesterday I was grateful for:
1. My dad coming up to visit us and Piper. He can’t believe how big she is! She’s 11 lbs now, and was only 5 lbs when he first saw her. He’s doing good—in a halfway house, has a good job, regular therapy and group sessions. He looks so much better and has gained perspective on his life. Let’s hope it sticks…

2. Decorated the house for Christmas! Well, what we had on hand anyway. I love candles and garland and lights.

3. My very first best friend, from third grade, and her husband came up to visit as well. They stayed for most of the night. We played with their tiny dog and they met (and fed) Piper :) hehe. I love visitors. They also brought all our Christmas decorations up (they live three hours away, in the same city as my mom)..my mama found all our crap and sent it up with them. Hurray!

4. Talked to my mom about her relationship. The glow is finally wearing off and they’re (gasp!) arguing. It’s funny how she comes to me for relationship advice. She seemed to really understand what I told her though.

5. The best part of Saturday night: Hubby and I BOTH got an astounding NINE SOLID HOURS OF SLEEP! Piper crashed around 9:30. We went to bed at 10 pm and got up at 7:30. She was still sleeping when we got up! What a good girl. Mommy and Daddy needed a good night’s sleep. I think the long day with all our visitors really tired her out.

Today I’m grateful for:

1. Thanksgiving food. Hubby and I stayed home with Piperoni and just grazed. Then napped. Then had pecan pie. Then cleaned. Then sat around watching DVDs. Ah, good day.

2. Teamwork. More and more lately (largely because we’re now parents), I realize how good of a team we are. We communicate well, work efficiently, and watch one another’s backs. It helps, especially on busy days like today.

3. Our washer and dryer. Piper likes to barf. Enough said.

4. Teething rings…that’s right, she’s teething! gaaaahh!

5. My life. It’s good.

^{Note: In the above photo—yes, Piper has discovered the “sup?” pose. She now believes she’s gangsta. We’re hoping she outgrows it.}

Today I’m grateful for:

1. Kangaroo Care with Pipes! For a nice couple hours. We used our Moby; I’m feeling a lot more confident in the wrapping and did a much better job today. Of course, she barfed all over my boobs at the end. Little shit :)

2. Ice cold chocolate milk. You can feel it hit your belly!

3. Clean, clean, clean house. And yes, we really do clean every day. It’s astounding how much of a mess two people and a baby can make. Dishes from cooking, bottles that need to be washed, burp rags everywhere, Q tips in the bathroom…wowza. But, now it’s clean. And I’m grateful.

4. Watching DVDs of That 70s Show. We borrowed the first five seasons from my brother and have been watching them all week (hubby is off of work for the holiday).

5. My beautiful daughter. All day today I’ve just been looking at her and thinking of how cute she is! Like this morning when I tucked her into our freshly-made bed; she looked so tiny and dainty. And when she was sitting on hubby’s lap, staring at me…her big eyes and chubby cheeks just melt my heart. She brings so much joy and happiness into our home.

Today I’m grateful for:
1. Getting a large chunk of homework done. Thanksgiving break, here I come!

2. Appreciating my clean home. Dishes are done, did three loads of laundry, swept, vacuumed, picked up clothes off the floor…I love it when everything is in its place. Makes my head a little less messy on the inside, you know?

3. Made plans to see our friends this weekend. On Friday my current best friend and her fiance are coming over, then Saturday my very first best friend (from 3rd grade) and her hubs will be in the area; they are going to stop over to visit and to meet Piper.

4. Boiled eggs. Tomorrow I will peel them and mix the deviled egg mash. Then Thursday I’m swallowing those suckers like a rat!

5. We got our Moby wrap today. Many, many thanks (and a big hug) to Lauraly for gifting it to us! I was able to clean, type, and wash bottles today…all while having Piper snuggled up on my chest. Above is a picture of the two of us in her room (I promised Lauraly I’d post a pic)...yes, my arm looks strangely huge—it was on my hip so blame the distortion on its proximity to the camera. That, or I have huge arms. And yep, I know Piper looks funny in the wrap; she was propping herself up on her elbow so she could look at her daddy, who was taking the picture. Also yes, I just noticed that the frame above her crib is off center. I moved her crib away from the side wall/heat vent, and I guess I have to shift the frame over now.

^{okay, blah blah blah, that’s enough.}

Today I’m grateful for:
1. Sleeping late. Like, reeeeaallly late.
2. Catching up on laundry. Fresh undies all around!
3. Cleaning the bathroom with hubs. Shiny tub, shiny walls, clean toilet, shiny sink! I just love peeing in a clean toilet. It’s like a new pair of white socks: innocent and primed for destruction.
4. Laughing with Piper. Well, I laughed, and she just kind of wiggled her arms and kicked her legs. But I got a BIG smile out of her while burping her.
5. My best friends bought their first house today! After weeks of negotiating, they’ve settled on a price :)

Today I’m grateful for:
1. Hubby waking me up with a dozen roses. He was so excited, it was cute. Plus they’re just beautiful.
2. Making a quick, yummy dinner.
3. Piper’s milestones. I know she’s a preemie and I shouldn’t have high expectations. So when she does something new I practically pee my pants :)
4. Rewatching 50 First Dates. I love it! Plus the soundtrack rocks.
5. Snapping some pics of Piper with one of my roses.

Today I’m grateful for:
1. A pretty sunset from my front door.
2. Hubby’s help with Piper’s two hour crying fit. Our first!
3. Honey mustard. Oh, yum.
4. Overtime hours for the hubs! It will nearly double his paycheck next week.
5. Starting a daily multivitamin. With it, I shall become invincible!