Today I Feel Blessed

Today I am thankful for so many things - the gift of life, my family, and for our health & happiness. We are truly blessed.

A reminder to take some time today amongst all the craziness to stop & enjoy all the things that you are thankful for...

What I am Thankful For

Upon picking Wyatt up from preschool, I am always interested to see what art projects & such make it into his tote bag to come home. Usually it is a picture with a scribble or two on it (Wyatt takes after his buddy Linus when it comes to all things crafty), or a finger painted masterpiece to hang in the playroom.

Imagine my surprise when I opened his tote bag to find a specially made Thanksgiving card, addressed to Mom & Dad. "Happy Thanksgiving" it read, with a turkey on the front made out of his hand print. I opened it to find the following text:

I am thankful for...my zooming motorcycle!**

Well, a mother could have only hoped that it would have said "My family, my parents or better yet - my mommy," but after all he is only 2. Maybe next year :)

**Said "zooming motorcycle" is not something we own. It is something that we rode once at Toys R Us & has made it's way to the top of the Christmas list. Little does he know, the scooter that we so desperately wanted just a few months back is what will be under the tree, not the "zooming motorcycle"...we'll see if he's still thankful!

Monday

Hello Cleanliness! My, how I have missed you!

Watch out! I am on a serious roll here cleaning & de-cluttering at our house - if it gets in my way, I may just toss it! My newest motto is "If you are unsure, GIVE IT AWAY." After my fourth & final drop off at the local Salvation Army yesterday, I joked with an employee that I wouldn't be able to shop there for months, because the entire store could quite possibly be filled with all of my old goodies - and knowing me, I would repurchase them in a moment of weakness. In fact, each time I have driven past the store this week, I have looked to see if one of the manikins in the window is wearing one of the new, with tags, suits that I donated.

You see, our house seems to be constantly filled with stuff, and having a toddler has only made the problem worse - toys, clothes, baby gear - there simply isn't room for it all. Add to that a family with a fondness for the great outdoors & all the activities one could do outdoors (and need gear for) & we simply must purge. Of course I have been nagging my husband for years to help me clean our crap out of the attic, only to get up there this week & realize that the one box up there that is his is neatly organized. I kid you not when I tell you there were 6 large moving boxes filled with my #$%@. Rolling Stones & Entertainment Weekly's from 1999? Glad I moved with those, TWICE - what? I simply have an avoidance issue when it comes to these things - if I open a box filled with crap, I promptly shut the lid & tuck it away (PS - Don't ever look under my bathroom cabinets).

The past two weeks I have met my issue head on & have tackled some great projects. As cheesy as it sounds, at the end of the day I really have a great feeling of accomplishment. There is something about throwing things away that is simply liberating; Not to mention helping stock the local Salvation Army in time for the holidays. For those that have visited my house & always wondered what was behind door #5 in the upstairs hallway, allow me to introduce to you my guest bedroom:

This room used to be filled with unpacked bags from travel & all sorts of other useless things that would get shoved into a corner when a guest would stay. I would find myself apologizing each time, and promising it would be cleaned up for the next visit. When I tell you that I literally gave away everything in this room, I mean it - took the prints from the walls, the bed skirts & comforters from the beds, the mirror from above the dresser - It was awesome! After the organizing, I headed to Target with some cash I had tucked away for a project such as this & purchased some new bedding. The print on the wall & the mirror above the dresser, which I made several years ago, were already at our house. So I may not have the ultimate decorator's eye, but for a gal on a budget with simplicity & cleanliness in mind, I think I did pretty well.

The next thing I wanted to tackle was organizing our Playroom/Office. After sorting through the toys to put away what was no longer age appropriate, I picked up a few fun items at Target & the like to decorate the walls - I even got Wyatt's help with a few of them:

I am still working on the attic - it has been a HUGE one to tackle, but actually a great "escape" from my day-to-day routine. I have found countless boxes filled with old high school & college memories and it has become a daily trip down memory lane that I truly look forward to. Sometimes in all of the hustle & bustle of being a mother, I tend to forget my old self - looking through pictures & reading old journals has sort of reminded me of where I came from & reflect on where I am now - I am thankful that where I am now has put me in a more fashion forward place than I was whenever I was wearing the shimmery halter & crystal body art tattoos that I found, but that's beside the point. So, I may not be clutter-free for long, but for now it feels great to clean, organize & redecorate.

Master of the Lens

Wanted to share some of my favorite pics from our recent photo shoot with Jennifer, of J.B. Haygood Photography. I realize he is my child, but I just cannot stop looking at these - I love them! We can't stop singing her praises around here.

Dental Defiance

I am quickly learning that toddler's take everything you say quite literally - for instance, take this conversation I had with my son this morning who has developed a fear of the dentist, although never having been to one. What is even funnier was how this conversation got started. A few months ago, we ran over our Yellow Lab in our driveway. Yes, I said we - Wyatt & I were both in the car, and at the time I felt better having someone to share the blame with. It was chaotic, no doubt, but we got him to the vet & he got by with a few stitches & nothing broken - amazing. Keeping all this in mind, here's how breakfast began this morning:

Mom: How are your Cheerios?

Wyatt: (staring out the window in wonder) We ran over Scout in our driveway?

Mom: Yes, we did.

Wyatt: He's okay though - we took him to the Vet?

Mom: Yes, he went to the vet & they fixed him up, remember?

Wyatt: I don't have to go to the Vet?

Mom: No, just animals.

Wyatt: I go to the dentist?

Mom: Maybe one day - would you like that?

Wyatt: (look of paralyzing fear crossing his face) No, I don't want to go to the dentist

Mom: Well, you don't have to go anytime soon

Wyatt: If I get too much candy in my mouth? My teeth would fall out? Then I would go?

Mom: (trying to suppress laughter) Yes, then you would have to go

Maybe this will curtail the requests for "special treats," at least for today.