Thankful Thursday

What a beautiful day, again!  We have been so blessed with wonderful weather, here in Ft. Worth.  Days like this remind me of my friend Ben Wright's term, non-weather.  That means weather that is so perfect that you don't even notice it.

Here's my thankful list for today.

1.  Adam snaking at drain at 1 a.m.
Last night after he got home from work at midnight and we had both sat down and talked a little and read a little, we heard a noise in the bathroom.  Our shower drain was clogged up, so in order to have a perfect shower this morning, Adam got out of bed and went and snaked out the drain.  That's love.

2.  !!!!  Exclamation points!!
I am an enthusiastic person by nature, so I feel like exclamation points were made for me!!!  I also love that Claire has started writing her name on all her papers at kindergarten like this:  Claire!

3.  Speaking of kindergarten, Claire was officially identified by the school as gifted and talented this week.  This is a huge deal.  From now on, Claire will automatically be put in the smart class and even get to attend special individualized classes to challenge her.  I was a teacher, so I know a lot of what goes into the identification process.  I didn't realize, however, that it is near impossible to get a child identified in kindergarten.  Apparently you have to score a 92 percentile on a special standardized test as well as excel in other areas of academia.  The more I ask around, the more I think Claire is the only kindergartner at this school to receive this honor.  Since I don't work full-time, we can't afford private school for the kids and one way to ensure they get the best possible education in public school is to make sure they earn the GT label.  Adam and I have been working hard with both of the kids since birth to expand their knowledge on a daily basis so they get on this gifted and talented track.  Hooray!  It worked!

4.  Paul's sense of humor.
Our son never ceases to crack me up.  Last week at the thrift shop, I was asking Paul if he wanted anything.  He pulled out a man's XXXL shirt, held it up to him and said in a serious voice, "I'm really thinking of getting this."  Yesterday he put on a detachable hood from Claire's winter coat and declared himself a polar bear.  Last week he announced he wasn't only a meerkat, he was a pirate meerkat.  He makes me laugh so hard!

5.  Project Mom
I am telling every mom I know to got to this in 2013.  Last Saturday I went to the downtown Hilton for these seminars on how to be a better mom.  I learned so much!  It was all relevant, applicable information on organization, parenting, couponing, photography, and many other things.  Plus, we got tons of free stuff!  I scored a huge basket of baby fitness equipment, which went to our next door neighbor's newborn.  It was awesome.

6.  Babysitting
My friend Melody watched both kids on Monday night so I could attend Bible study.  Since Adam's been working so much lately, I hadn't been able to attend since November.  It felt so good to be back amongst friends and get myself back on track.

7.  The return of perspective
When it's just me and the kids and I don't have much other outlets or adults to talk to, I begin to lose perspective on life.  A cup of spilled milk becomes AN ENTIRE GLASS OF SPILLED MILK ALL OVER THE CLEAN FLOOR MAKING IT NOW HORRIBLY STICKY AND THE END OF THE WORLD IS APPROACHING!!!  One way that I avoid being self-important and self-adsorbed is by being around other adults.  Adam finished two major projects this week, thus freeing me up to get out of the house some.  With Melody watching the kids on Monday, I really feel more like myself again and can mop up that spilled milk, because after all, it's not really a big deal.

8.  Libraries
We are blessed to be able to frequent and feel at home at three libraries.  We have a wonderful children's library at church, where the librarian has started pulling books she knows we'll like.  Paul and I work weekly at the Bruce Shulkey library and check out lots of books there.  There's also the Wedgwood branch of the Fort Worth Public Library, which we also call home.  The only downside to all these libraries is I have to make sure I'm turning the correct books into the correct library.

9.  Public Relations Campaigns at the Dinner table
I served broccoli the other night and Paul had seconds.  I asked him if he liked the trees and he said yes.  Claire however said she didn't like broccoli.  Luckily she ate some anyway and Paul didn't make the connection that the trees he was gobbling up were actually broccoli.  I always feel like a spin doctor at the dinner table.

10.  Neighborhood kids
I grew up in an old, established neighborhood where the only kids around were my sister and I.  I love that we had a new family move in down the street so the kids now have daily playmates.  Neighbors are awesome.