Happy Thanksgiving

It is very common to see people posting a status update every day during the month of November sharing one thing that they are thankful for.   While I believe that one should be thankful everyday and not just one month out of the year, it does help to consciously take the time to count some of our many blessings.

Since I know that I would fall of the bandwagon if I tried to post daily on Facebook, I prefer to make a list of 30 things that I am thankful for:

1. Shammy- my life completely changed when he was born. He truly marked the beginning of a new awesome chapter in my life and despite the challenges of a three-nager he makes me very happy and I am blessed to have him call me mama.
2. Zen- another amazing soul who calls me mama.
3.  my husband- an excellent provider, he works so hard for his family, is a great father and puts up with me, I don’t deserve him.
4.  family- enough said
5. Saturday morning cuddles- can’t think of a better way to start the weekend
6. toddler hugs- because you can’t help feeling better after one of those
7. being able to work part time- spending time with my kids is very important to me, I don’t want to miss out on these precious early years so while our budget would really benefit from more income, I am thankful that we are able to manage.
8. reading- it’s therapeutic and it gives me a break from mundane stuff
9. streaming TV- if I couldn’t stream I would never be able to watch any TV, thank you technology
10. good weather-My moods are heavily influenced by the weather
11. comfort foods- nothing like the gastric orgasm of satisfying a craving
12. fertility- I didn’t originally plan on having kids so I took fertility for granted. I am blessed to have been able to conceive easily when I know so many that suffer through infertility.
13. parents- they may drive me nuts and I find it near impossible to have real time communication with them without getting upset but if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here and have nothing to be thankful for.
14. Facebook- if it wasn’t for this website I would have lost touch with a lot of people over the years but instead we keep in touch and at the very least “like” each other statuses and photos
15. Facebook friends- being without a car this is my only form of adult interaction most days. They put up with my rants and help keep me sane. I am closer to some FB friends I’ve never met in person than to most people I know in real life. They bless me with thoughful and generous gifts like gift certificates for cloth diapers and slow cookers. They are truly a blessing.
16. WIC job- so grateful for a job where I get paid to do what I love and that is flexible enough to give me minimal separation from my boys.
17. La Leche League- this organization was key to my breastfeeding success
18. Breastfeeding- so cheap, so awesome
19. Groupon and Amazon- have gotten some great deals and good gifts on there, things I wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise.
20. Evernote- without it my life would be full of disorganization and chaos and I wouldn’t even know where my head is.  This blog would never get updated without this app.
21. Zen being such a teething trooper, he got his first molar with only some extra clinginess and we didn’t miss any sleep
22. Overabundance of junk. It’s amazing how things accumulate but without this extra stuff I don’t need I wouldn’t be able to sell things for emergency cash.
23. Husband on same parenting page- he is supportive of my parenting style which is very important to me
24. TV parental controls- they save my children’s impressionable mind but also saves us money by preventing Zen from ordering movies when he gets a hold of the remote
25. Late trash pick up- I can sleep in and still take the trash out on time, I also don’t have to worry about the truck waking up the boys.
26. The Summer 2012 moms group, what a wonderful group of mamas, amazing friends that I can feel comfortable sharing personal things with
27. Cloth diapers- we have saved SOOOOOO much money with them.  And they are so cute!
28. Internet- I wouldn’t know what is going on in the world nor be able to stay in touch with people without.
29. USA- I am thankful for this country and government while far from perfect still offers opportunities and comforts that I take for granted but wouldn’t come so easily if I lived elsewhere.
30. Living in Florida- not only do I get to enjoy halfway decent weather most of the year but we are also close to so many attractions.  While many families have to plan carefully, save for a year and travel to go to a theme park we can enjoy FL resident discounts and make a day trip out of it.  I love living near the Ocean even if I haven’t gone to the beach in over 3 years.