Our Thankful Post

This Thanksgiving, we have so much for which to be thankful.  Saunders and I were talking about all the things we have to be grateful for earlier this week, and it is both overwhelming and humbling to list so many things that we have to appreciate.  We work very hard every day to earn what we have achieved, but we are also very lucky to have the life we have been given.

We are so fortunate to have a healthy, happy family ... to have such a precious and precocious daughter ... to still be happily married after six years ... to be so close to our caring, supportive parents  ... to be good friends with our brothers and sisters-in-laws ... to have all our family living close to us this year ... to have a loyal group of close-knit friends ... to have our sweet pets ... to have a beautiful, safe home ... to have two stable and successful jobs in this job market ... to have two reliable cars ... to have weathered the economic crisis with a little money left in the bank ... to be able to travel ... to be able to enjoy each other and live our life with relatively few worries.  We have so much to be thankful for this year!  We hope that everyone who reads this blog knows how thankful we are for you and how much we value your friendship and love.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

100 Things

This Thanksgiving, along with thinking of the big things I'm thankful for, I also wanted to stop and focus on the little things that make life so wonderful.  I think it is so easy to forget to be thankful for those everyday things that really improve the way I live, so I tried this week to keep a list starting from the moment I wake up until I go to bed.  My goal was to think of ...

100 Everyday Things I'm Thankful For

1. A radio alarm clock instead of the annoying beeping kind

2. A warm shower to wake me up

3. Volumizing shampoo and conditioner

4. Contact lenses ... so thankful for you, contacts

5. Secret Clinical Strength

6. Two wagging-tailed dogs who are thrilled to see me each morning

7. Saunders getting up early to feed the dogs for me

8. Freshly brewed coffee

9. French Vanilla Creamer

10. Clean clothes - straight out of the dryer and still warm

11. Volumizing mousse, hairspray, and a blow dryer

12. My big fat curling iron - six years old, and still going strong!

13. Electric toothbrushes and whitening toothpaste

14. Makeup - I thank God for you, makeup

15.  Chapstick

16. Spending fifteen minutes catching up with Saunders while we get ready for work

17. A freshly made bed

18. The luxury of having more than 20 pairs of shoes to choose from- so many people don't even have 1

19. My wedding and engagement ring

20. Holding a snuggly toddler who's still waking up

21. How easily Katie Anne lets me fix her hair

22. Watching a few minutes of Diego with KA before work

23. Big hugs and kisses from my baby and hubby before I head out to my job

24. A short commute

25. Kindergartners whose faces light up when I walk in the cafeteria to pick them up at 7:35 am

26. Lots of positive feedback from my new administrators

27. Writer's Workshop - my favorite part of the school day

28. My parapro, Gina

29. The 800 Hall teaching team

30. Planning period - twenty minutes of regroup time for me

31. Guided reading with my highest reading group

32. Sharpie chart markers

33. Watching my students making connections to what we're learning

34. Recess!

35. Math Workshop - my second favorite part of the school day

36. Fun, creative work in Social Studies

37. Having car rider duty instead of bus duty

38. Forty-five minutes after dismissal to get organized

39. Planning lessons ahead through December

40. Microsoft Excel for graphing progress monitoring data

41. Being able to email parents instead of calling every one

42. My super comfy, massaging desk chair

43. Actually walking out of work on time!

44. Reading a good magazine in the waiting room for a few minutes

45. The scalp massage when the salon assistant washes my hair

46. Getting a fresh haircut

47. Having the money and time to run by the store and pick up a few things we need and a few things we just want

48. The twenty minute drive time to decompress on the way to Katie Anne's school

49. AM 750 WSB

50. Katie Anne's clean, bright school

51. Katie Anne's caring teachers

52. Seeing Katie Anne having fun with her friends and ask for "five more minutes" on the playground

53. Knowing that she's happy at school while I'm at work

54. Listening to KA tell me all about her day on the way home

55. Driving through the beautiful fall leaves in our neighborhood

56. Pulling up in front of my house ... feels so good to be home

57. Two happy dogs waiting for us when we get here

58. Saunders is home early!  Or maybe KA and I are late... either way, we're all home together now.

59. Putting on comfortable clothes after a long day in dress pants

60. Cooking a healthy dinner for my family +

61. while listening to my husband tell me about his day +

62. while our daughter cheerfully "cooks" in her play kitchen =

63. one happy family

64. Sitting down to dinner together

65. Listening to Katie Anne saying the blessing

66. Spending almost thirty minutes at the table talking with no distractions

67. Saunders and I cleaning up the kitchen together

68. Katie Anne sitting in my lap on the couch while we watch cartoons

69. Bath time!  KA plays happily while I get to sit by the tub and read for a few minutes.

70. Saunders's support when shampooing gets Katie Anne all ticked off

71. Katie Anne's mood going sunny after the bath just as quickly as it went stormy during it

72. Brushing little teeth

73. Combing toddler hair

74. Lotioning up a squirmy, ticklish, giggly body

75. Reading books, books, and more books with Katie Anne in her bed

76. Hearing KA ask us for one more kiss and one more hug before goodnight

77. Having an hour or two of kid-free time after she's in bed

78. Saunders and me playing the Wii together

79. Modern Family

80. Hearing the dishwasher and washing machine going ...

81. Knowing some things really do clean themselves!

82. Cell phones

83. Getting everything organized and packed for tomorrow morning

84. Relaxing on our big, comfy couch

85. Laptops

86. Internet access

87. Email

88. Facebook

89. Blogging!

90. DVR to record shows that I miss when...

91. I fall asleep on the couch under a blanket

92. Saunders gently waking me up to send me to bed

93. A big glass of chocolate milk

94. Taking those fabulous - but now so dry - contacts out

95. Face cleaner to remove that blessed makeup

96. Indoor plumbing

97. Comfy pajamas

98. A goodnight kiss from my husband

99. My big, warm bed with soft sheets and thick blankets on a cold night

100. A great night's sleep

... and being lucky enough to wake up the next morning and do it all again!

Our Thankful Leaf Garland

Today after school, Katie Anne and I made a Thanksgiving craft.  We made a thankful leaf banner to celebrate all the people and things that we're thankful for this holiday season.  I cut out lots of different leaf shapes in fall colors, and I bought Katie Anne a special leaf stamp and gold stamp pad.  Then, we sat down at the kitchen table and got to work!

We talked about what being thankful means, and she started brainstorming all the people and things that she loves.  She was spouting names faster than I could write them down!  Then, she got to stamp the leaves with her gold sparkly ink ... she loved it!  Then, we punched holes in all the leaves and strung them on a brown velvet ribbon.  We strung the garland on the windows in the kitchen.  It is a great reminder of all the things Katie Anne - and our entire family - are thankful for this holiday season!

Stamping gold leaves on the big orange leaf for her friend Chauncey

Smiles!  Then, she said she was thankful for Mommy's camera.  :)

Serious stamping business

 

Katie Anne has a long list full of thankfulness!  Here are her family leaves...

And she was very thankful for all her friends...

Of course, she's thankful for her dogs...

And why not be thankful for yourself?

To round out her list of thanks, Katie Anne is thankful for lots of things like her books, Pop-tarts, her play kitchen, Peach the Mouse, and more...

Here's our beautiful banner!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Lost Posts - #1

When I got out our printer today to print awards for our ten year reunion tonight, I opened the scanner top and - lo and behold - I found stuff in there!  Apparently, last May, I had planned on scanning some things to save for posterity and post on the blog, but I just tucked them into the scanner and forgot about them.  Oops!  May was a crazy busy month, so I guess I can forgive myself.

Here's the first lost post... I got a little envelope in my school mailbox, and inside I found the sweetest note from one of my former students, Cassi Tibbets.  I had Cassi in fourth grade during my first year of teaching.  I loved reading Cassi's letter and wanted to save it for reading later when school seems more like a J.O.B. and not so F.U.N.  Sometimes as a teacher, you wonder if all your hard work really matters in the end.  It really means so much to get this kind of positive feedback from a former student, especially to know that I'm still making an impact so many years later.  You can click on the letter to enlarge it and read it... Cassi wrote with silver ink pen, so it is kind of hard to read.

 

I can't wait to read her first novel - that's going to mention me!

Greenleaf Day Spa - A Birthday Treat!

A spa gift certificate from Greenleaf Day Spa ... $345

A drop-in day at day care ... $30

Spending three hours of your birthday in a fluffy white robe being pampered ... priceless

Today, I got to spend three hours of my birthday at Greenleaf Day Spa. It was beyond fabulous... Saunders and Katie Anne gave me the "Take the Day Off" spa package for Mother's Day, which included a one hour massage, a one hour facial, a body polish, and a hand and foot treatment. I used the massage and facial earlier in the summer, and I thought I'd schedule the polish and hand/foot treatments for today as a birthday treat.

First, I had the Body Polish with Papaya Salt Scrub. This was in-freaking-credible. I'd never had this done before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's just like a massage, but with incredible exfoliation benefits to boot! First, I got a full body rub down with the salt and papaya mixture, which smells wonderful. Then, I got all wrapped up in a fluffy robe and slippers and walked down to the bathroom, which the technician had a hot and steamy shower going. I washed all the salt mixture off, and then it was back to the massage room for a thirty-minute massage with moisturizers. My skin feels incredibly soft and smooth! I would highly recommend it, and I think I'd rather have this than a regular massage simply because it is kind of like getting two services for the price of one. (Modest mouse, beware... this is a fully in-the-buff experience.)

After the body polish, I moved to another room for the hand and foot treatment. I got to lay back and relax with a lavender eye mask over my eyes while my hands and feet were exfoliated, masked, wrapped in warm towels to soften, moisturized, and massaged. What a fabulous way to spend a few hours of your life! It was just total relaxation - no distractions, no chores, no to-do list... just soft music, low lights, and someone rubbing my feet. Fabulous! This would be a great treatment to try if you're a little nervous about the whole spa thing... they've got the "Shy Package", which includes the hand and foot treatments for $100 on their website.

The thing I love about Greenleaf is that the think of all the details ... low lights, natural paint colors, "spa voices" (aka quiet talking), instrumental music ... cool air conditioning, warm blankets, cold ice water in little glasses ... fluffy soft robes, steamy towels straight out of the towel warmer, hot showers with loofahs and organic body wash. You put all your clothes and things in a basket, and they move them room-to-room for you, so you don't even have to think about anything. No one talks during your services. It is totally calm and peaceful, and it is such a nice break from all the white noise that's constantly "on" during every other day.

I think this is the best Mother's Day gift Saunders and Katie Anne have given me. I loved my family necklace from my first Mother's Day with a diamond for me, one for Saunders, and a pink sapphire for Katie Anne. I can't wait to add more sapphires as we have kids. I love the perfume from last year - it smells wonderful, and I've almost used all of it in just a year. However, I have to say the spa day is the best because it is so hard for me to really relax and just be still, and this really helps me to do it. I feel so refreshed, and I highly recommend it!

Writing Thank You Notes

If you gave KA a gift for her birthday, but you haven't gotten a thank you note from Katie Anne yet, they are on their way tomorrow. I ordered some cards from Snapfish, and we got them yesterday. Today, she "wrote" her thank you notes, and she was very excited to do it.

Thank You, Thank You!

Every year (well, every year being last year and this year), I like to take pictures of Katie Anne with her Christmas gifts from other people and send them out as part of her thank you notes. This way, the gift giver can see her wearing/enjoying/playing with the gift. I don't take a picture of her with every single thing she gets, but I like to take at least a picture or two to send to each person who gave her something.

Last year, I made individual cards on kodakgallery.com for everybody, but I wasn't too pleased with them. The picture on the front was really cute, but the interior pictures (the ones of her with the actual gift) were really small. So, this year, I'm just including the actual printed pictures in a regular thank you note. This way, if someone wants to frame it, they can- unlike the cards last year.

The pictures of her with all her gifts were too cute not to post! So, here's a little slideshow of all her "thank yous".

And, for those of you who gave Katie Anne a gift this Christmas, she says thanks... and the notes will be in the mail tomorrow! It obviously took me a few photo sessions to get the pictures done.