Day 35: No Snooze is Good Snooze

For the second day in a row, I have not hit the snooze button on my alarm clock. For the second day in a row, I have not been rushing around in the morning trying to get a million things done in a short amount of time. Today, I began the day with a nice and easy pace.

And that's just the way I like it. :)

Day 34: Tomorrow

Just about everything that could have gone wrong today did. This is an extremely stressful and busy time of year for teachers in Colorado and sometimes, the only way to make it through is to focus on one day at a time.

Thus, I am thankful for one simple thing tonight: tomorrow is a new day.

Day 33: Jigsaw in Heels

If there's one thing my dad taught me growing up, it was how to make my way around a tool box. We spent a lot of time fixing things up, remodeling, tinkering, and taking things apart just to put them back together. As a result, I don't have a fear of tools or what to do if something breaks.

As mentioned in this post, Chris built me amazing frames for our Hole In The Wall assembly that is coming up on Monday. Today, I took the styrofoam to the library, where my good friends, Linda and Kristen, traced my body in wacky positions. From there, we wheeled the eight 4 x 8 sheets down to the applied tech lab where there is a wood shop.

Taking out my (well, Chris's) jigsaw, I went to town! My co-worker, Mike was astonished that I knew how to handle a saw -- and with either hand, for that matter. It was pretty funny. In the end, we ended up with what is going to be a FANTASTIC game for the teachers to compete in and the kids to laugh at.

I used a saw in heels today. Yup. For this, I am thankful. :)

I'll post pics of the final product soon.

Day 32: Dinner Is Served

This morning I left for work knowing what I was going to make for dinner. I stopped at the store on the way home and popped the lasagna in the oven when I got home. In a situation that normally stresses me out, dinner felt easy tonight. Granted, I bought frozen Stouffer's lasagna, but hey, I knew what I was going to cook!

A stress-free evening. For this, I am thankful.

Day 31: My Husband the Engineer

One of the things I love most about Chris is his perfectionism. He never does anything just to get it done - he gets it done the way it needs to be done right. So, when I asked for his help in building a contraption for one of my upcoming assemblies in a week, I knew it would turn into a "Chris Masterpiece".

...and it did. :)

Thanks to Chris, our Hole in the Wall game during the assembly will be safe, sturdy, and pretty cool-looking all at the same time. For this, I am thankful.

Day 30: Impromptu Eats

One of my favorite things about my neighbors is our impromptu dinners. Rarely does a week go by that we don't settle in at one of our homes for food, wine, laughs, and friendship. Tonight, our neighbors from below us came up for some seriously amazing burgers that Chris made. With our weekly dinners often taking place mid-week, it was nice to have Chris around for the event. It felt complete.

Our meals, though simple, mean so much more to me than a night off from cooking. They offer a unique chance for each of us to connect in a way that we may not find anywhere else on that particular day. It is through these meals that we have been able to develop an incredible support network, as none of us have family in the area.

We are lucky to have such incredible neighbors who have turned into even more incredible friends. For this, I am thankful.

Day 29: Rhyme Time

Today I am thankful for childhood rhyming skills and their uncanny ability to make us laugh. Sofia's class has been working on rhyming all week and today, their class published a little book for parents to see. Each student got to create their own page with two words of their choice that rhymed.

This was Sofia's page:

 

I literally laughed out loud in the hallway when I saw this. The teacher in me immediately was proud that she was making connections to her real world. The Meghan in me just thought this was beyond hilarious! She is sooooooooo my child!  :)

Day 28: 6 Years, 500 Posts

You read that right! This is my 500th post on Adventures Out West. Craziness!

Today, I am thankful for this blog. Over the past 6 years, I have been able to use this space as a way to capture memories, self-reflect, and create a living document of our lives. Writing on this blog has meant a lot to me over the years. My hope is that as our kids grow, we will have a really unique chronology of our lives as a family. I stink at scrapbooking, but I'm damn good at using my computer. :)

Thanks to all of you who have joined in on our adventures. I have a feeling we have only just begun...

Day 27: Patience

God blessed me with patience....and today I really, really needed it. Two children, both with very different sicknesses and very needy personalities, camped themselves on my couch all day long.  Between the crying, whining, puking, coughing, fevers, fatigue, medicine distribution, and movie choices, I was stretched just about as far as I have ever been...and then some. I quite possibly took more "deep breaths" in one day than ever before.

Granted, the kids have been sick at the same time before, but never like this. It was a long day.

But, we survived. My sickos and I survived. As I laid each of them down tonight, both were happy and calm. I felt good about that. And for this, I am thankful.

A little glimpse...

Day 26: Backseat Giggles

Every day, I pick up Sofia and our little neighbor girl, Hayley from school. I love walking into their classroom and having them both run up to give me giant hugs. On a good day, it's like herding cats to get them out the door of the classroom, but we eventually get there. :) They race to their "cubbies" in the hallway to grab their things and then it's off to the car to drive home.

The drive home is typically filled with questions, "Sofia is..", "Hayley is..." and the occasional whine. But more abundant than anything else are giggles. These girls play with words, make goofy sounds, silly voices, talk about their day, and giggle. I love it.

I have long days. On days like today when the ride home is filled with laughter, it all seems that much more bearable.

Four-year-old giggles from the backseat of the car. For this, I am thankful.