Positive, Gratitude, and Grateful

There are days when I find myself running empty.  Everyone has struggles, days of frustration, anxiety & feeling overwhelmed.  Somehow these days seem more often now that I have a toddler running amuck :) 

Over the past week, I feel that God has been telling me to be thankful & look at the positives.  He has done this through a book - Calm My Anxious Heart, a blog post - Just McGee, and a Facebook post titled Grateful Monday.  It took those three things to catch my attention, but they certainly did the trick. 

In the book, the author challenges us to list the positives and negatives in our lives.  What a great way to really sit back and look at the blessings that God has given me.  I am beyond thankful that my positives always outweigh my negatives! In the blog, the author made a gratitude list on a day that had her bogged down.  As I read through her list, I found myself mentally altering the list to things I am grateful for.  It's a great idea to sit down and write a gratitude list when you feel as if life just is not going your way.  As for the Facebook post, Grateful Monday, it made me think about what I was thankful for on that particular monday.  

This blog would not be complete without my listing the positives in my life & what I am thankful for! 

1. The knowledge that I am a daughter in the Kingdom of God - a God who is full of loving kindess, mercy, compassion & forgiveness.  A God who knows the plans He has laid for me and whose timing is far more perfect than the timeline I want for my life. 

2. My husband - a man who is my best friend and makes me laugh like no other.  A man who is a wonderful father to our son.  A man who is a hard worker & provides for his family. 

3. My son - I love watching him learn and grow.  He makes my heart melt when he smiles at me,  even when he's in trouble and he is doing his darndest to get me to crack.   (ok I can't resist posting a picture - this is a favorite of mine, and an example of that sweet smile!)

4. My family & friends - the people that know me, love me,  support me and encourage me.  They add so much to my life. 

5. Being a stay-at- home mom - in this economy, it is a true blessing indeed to be able to stay home with my son.  When I do need to make a little extra money, I babysit for 3 great kids & I get to bring my boy with me! 

These are only some of the things I am thankful for! When you take a moment on those 'empty' days, what are you thankful for?

High Five

I am all about high fives.  I like encouragement as much as the next person but I am not a fan of big long hugs and "you are fantastic/great/wonderful!" with enthusiastic clapping.  I think that gene is missing in me.  You will not catch me clapping and telling my munchkin that he did "such a good job! Oh Mommy is so proud of you! You're so smart!".  Keep in mind, I am not knocking this form of encouragement.  It is just not what I do.  Give me a high five and a grin any day.  


When the munchkin throws his trash away, puts a toy back (on the rare occasions that happens), or returns any item that he took from the kitchen, he knows what's coming - yep, a high five.  He automatically raises his hand as he passes by me on his way to more exciting things than high fiving his mom.  I  am pretty sure he did an eye roll the other day.  


I even give high fives to the first grader I babysit when I help him with his homework.  His older sisters are way too cool for high fives, but it does not stop me! Through the big sighs and "you're so lame", they high five me back.  I like to think they secretly love it.  There's just something fun about high fives.   


Go on ... you know you want to do it - give someone a high five & a grin! It's like a warm fuzzy.  

Toddlerisms

I was talking to my mother in law yesterday and updating her on the latest with the munchkin. She thought it was humorous, I realized that I also thought it was humorous (most of the time), thus decided to share it with you all.   Laugh along :) 


The munchkin is almost 19 months and boy is he fast (as fast as an almost 19 month old can be).  My little boy is not a fan of diaper changes - how dare I lay him down on the floor and keep him from running around, leaving toys everywhere?! I have learned that if I say "Munchkin, I need to change your diaper", he decides it's time to flee.  This usually ensues in my chasing him around the house, which he thinks is great fun and laughs with glee until I catch him.  He then proceeds to throws a fit once I catch him.  The best way to keep him happy is to sing to him, which usually comprises of Alice the Camel who goes from five humps to none, then turns into a horse.  (It's a good lesson - by the time Alice turns into a horse, his diaper is changed and he's off again!).


With this wonderful bipolar weather and the munchkin playing with more kids, he has developed a cold.  No problem.  It's life.  The only issue with a cold is a runny nose.  As soon as the munchkin sees me grab a tissue, guess what? He flees, yet again.  I cringe.  I chase, yet again.  If you hear my child fussing and crying, and see me holding him in a headlock, it's okay.  I am just wiping his nose.   I have also learned a valuable lesson:  do not wipe nose when mouth is full of cheerios.  It results in wet gummy cheerios all over the floor.  


I have decided to look at all this chasing around in a positive note -- it's exercise! 

Reflection

I enjoyed doing the 30 day blog, or as one friend called it, the-blog-a-day-diet :) After writing for 30 days, I found myself wondering what to write next.  Thank you to everyone who gave me ideas on what to write.  I wish I were creative enough to come up with blog topics on my own, but after wracking my brain for the past three days, it's not happening! I think it's much more interesting to hear what someone has to say on a particular topic than just mindless rambling, which is exactly what would happen if I were left to come up with stuff on my own.  Yep ... just rambling ... on and on and on ... oh wait, what am I supposed to be writing about?  

Some days I am sure I'll write about raising a toddler, the fact that I am becoming a blog-a-holic, my attempts to cook new meals (most of them will probably be ... interesting), and other randomness.  Between the topics people gave me, this helpful little site, and my life, this blog should be fairly interesting :) 

So bookmark this page and check in often to see what I have to say!  It may be daily, it may be a couple days a week, I do not know.  I'm just going with the flow.  Heeeey, a rhyme! (Now my true dorky side shall come out - I apologize in advance).