March Challenge

This month I will be participating in a challenge about the special women in my life. If you would like to join in stop by Traci's blog and check it out!

Choose Joy - Challenge

Today I found joy when I found the two loves of my life asleep. It had been a long evening tonight with my oldest son as we butted heads. So my joy was when I finally got them to sleep and could turn the TV off, sit, breath, and relax.

Today I am thankful for...

...a nap. After enjoying 5 days off of work because of the Thanksgiving holiday I am really not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. This morning I got up puttered around the house, went to the grocery store, made lunch and laid down on my son's bed while the boys were playing in his bedroom and took a nap. I slept for about an hour and a half and when I woke up I really had no desire to get up. It was a rainy Sunday and a great nap day. I decided not to cook dinner tonight too.

Today ends my final day of my thankful posts although I think I may try to recap once a month the things that have made me thankful. Some blessings are small and some are huge but they are always there we just need to take the time to reflect and be thankful!

Thanks Sherry!!!

Today I am thankful for...

...the fact that Tyler gave it his all. He has been racing go-carts for about a year now and today was the 2nd to last race of the season. My husband borrowed a michron (sp?), a technical thing attached to the go-cart so we know how fast he goes each lap he races.

A few days ago we were talking to Tyler about a race that was coming up this Saturday and he made the comment that he would finish 3rd. 3rd is not a bad place to finish but if your expectation is to always finish 3rd and not aim for anything higher then why race. So dh and I had a nice chat with him about that. We borrowed the took for today's races. Every time he went out he got a few tenths of a second faster. So instead of him racing against the other racers today he raced against himself.

He gave it his all and although he did finish 3rd we are proud that he tried to beat his time every time he went out on the track.

Picture will be coming later once I upload them...

Today I am thankful for...

...Rachael. Rachael is our babysitter and she is one of the best that I have found. I trust her with my boys and I know that she has fun and enjoys being with them. She is home from college for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Eric and I were able to have a date night because of her being home. We went to dinner at Outback. Outback just recently sent coupons to our school for teachers that are good for $6.00 off an entree and you can use it as much as you want to until 12/31. Plus I had a $25 gift card there, again thanks to the fact that I am a teacher as it was a gift from one of my students last year. So our $45 dinner turned out to only be about $13 plus tip. Not too bad for two steak dinners. :0)

After dinner we did some Christmas shopping...starting with Game Stop where we walked out empty handed. Then off to Toys R Us...where we walked out about $200 later. Next we went to Wal-Mart...$70 later, but Eric also picked up some stuff that he needed for racing and stuff for the truck. Our final stop was to Target...$60 later. Oh, actually that wasn't our final stop...we tried going to Cold Stone Creamery because I had a gift card there thanks again to my students, but found out they were not longer in business. :0( I thought we were on our way home when Eric suprised me and we went to Dairy Queen instead for Blizzards. YEAH!!!

All money well spent but the priceless moment tonight was spending time alone with Eric...something that doesn't happen very often and something that we need to keep our relationship healthy!

Today I am thankful for...

...Sherry! I need to thank Sherry for posting this challenge. This past November has been a hard one on me. I have been dealing with some issues with my oldest son that I will finally get answers to in two weeks. I found out that my dad did something that my mom is very bitter about. Plus there are some medical issues that my parents are dealing with that I was not told about and called my sister who I asked to share with me what was going on. Now my mom is mad at my sister for telling me. I also found out that my cousin is getting a divorce. We were very close growing up and have stayed some what close even though 10 years ago I moved to FL and she is in PA. Within the past years the phone calls have come less and less frequent and I should have known something was up but just assumed that we were both focusing more on our families. Unfortunately that was not the issue for her. I know there are others things but my brain cannot wrap itself around those right now.

But Sherry has helped me find things to be thankful for this past month leading up to Thanksgiving Day. Some days have been harder to find things then others.

Today I am thankful for...

...my 3 year old, Reed. He is my love bug and will always be my baby. He is full of spunk and has quite the little personality and on occasion the ornery side comes out. Reed is an eater and will pretty much eat anything you give to him...if his brother doesn't comment that it is gross prior to him trying it. I am sad that his blonde hair is growing in darker as he gets older. He wants to do everything his big brother does.

Today I am thankful for...

My 3 favorite boys that I love to spend time with!


...the next five days! One of the greatest things about being a teacher is that you get to have off of work most of the days the students are off. The next five days I will get to spend time with my boys. I wonder what we will get into besides the obvious on Thanksgiving Day? I have set the record straight with my seven year old that there will be time restraints on the Wii, TV, and computer. The weather is gorgeous here in South FL and I informed him that we will be spending time outside. He has already to go on a bike ride, so tomorrow morning we will strap on the helmets and go for a ride. I also look forward to snuggling up with my boys on the couch and watching the Thanksgiving Day parade. Will they actually join me? Who knows but I will be there and that is what will be on the TV. I am also very excited that dh will get to share 4 out of those 5 days with us.

We will make the most of it and hopefully make some memories that will last a lifetime!

Today I am thankful for...

...things that please my son. When I got home from work today, Tyler ran to his room and shut his door which I thought was very strange, but he is always up to something. I let the dog out and the next thing I know Tyler wants to wrap his Christmas gifts that he bought at the school's holiday shop for his daddy, cousin, and brother. Thankfully they provide holiday bags to place the items in. He was so excited about the items he purchased and wanted to get them wrapped before anyone could find them.

As I was getting his brother ready for bed tonight I heard Tyler's bedroom door slam once again and his daddy was in there with him. I wonder who's gift they were wrapping then...???

Christmas is over a month away but Tyler is prepared and has his gifts for giving ready to be placed under the tree.

Thank you holiday shop for making my son excited about Christmas and for giving him the joy of picking his own presents out for the ones that matter the most!

Today I am thankful for...

...dvr. Without it I would miss some of my favorite shows. I love the fact that I can watch something in less time then it takes to appear on tv, because I can fast forward through the commercials. Today I was able to get caught up on Days of Our Lives. Such a great story line with a murder being solved. I have some other shows that need to be watched and caught up on as well. Hopefully this week...since it is only a 2 day work week!

Today I am thankful for...

...pizza. It has made my family happy for 3 dinners now. Wednesday I stayed at work late and ran to the grocery store for frozen pizza and dog food. Thursday night I had Bunco and asked the boys what they wanted for dinner...PIZZA! Today some of the third grade teachers ordered pizza for the students as it was their student teachers last day. They had left over pizza and offered me a pie to take home. Of coure I graciously accepted...free dinner. I was actually shocked when Eric wasn't upset about having pizza for the third night in a row. I am sure it won't work 4 nights.

Today I am thankful for...

...preparation/organization. I am not usually so disorganized at school, I am a teacher. My student teacher just finished up her teaching last Friday and I am trying to get my act back together. I spent 2 hours after school today organizing my classroom and getting things ready for tomorrow. Today was such a blur at work, I wasn't prepared. I am prepared for tomorrow and my students will be much happier because they will have a prepared/organized teacher.

Today I am thankful for...

...the fact that stores sell clothes to fit me. Yes, there is sarcasm in my post tonight and I am hopefully that it will kick my butt into gear. The weather has been cooler here in South FL so for the past few days I have had to search my closet for something that fits me that is warm enough to wear for the cooler weather. I had enough this morning after spending 20 minutes trying on clothes from my closet. I went out to the store tonight and hopefully bought my last outfit in the size that I bought tonight. Tomorrow hopefully will be a new start to my new life. I am going to try going back to WW points system and get this body of mine moving.

Another reason for the need for a new outfit is that tomorrow is class picture day...the teacher cannot be wearing too tight clothes in the picture that will be placed possibly in scrapbooks or picture frames.

Today I am thankful for...

...cooler weather. I got up out of bed this morning, got dressed, put the dog's leash on and went for a walk. It was a cool brisk morning. When the wind blew it felt colder than the 59 degress that the weather man said. Living in South FL most of us get excited when the cooler weather comes to us. It has been in the mid 80's this week and it has still been very humid so high 50's low 60's is a nice treat. My boys have been playing outside. My windows are open. Eric is outside working cleaning the shed out which is not a fun task to do in the heat. I will be out there joining him soon cleaning up the backyard.

Today I am thankful for...

...extended family. There is nothing better than playing with your cousins. Today we went to Eric's aunt and uncle's house. Some of his aunt and uncles were there along with his grandmother from MD. My boys got to play with cousins if I am figuring it out right they would be third cousins.

I have such fond memories of spending Sunday's and holidays with extended family, playing with my cousins. Such good times. My children very rarely get to see their extended family since we live several states away from them that when it does happen it is a blessing. I hope my boys will remember and cherish these times like I do.

Today I am thankful for...

...the weekend. Some weeks seem longer then others with this week in particular. Even though this weekend will be crazy busy. I don't have to get up at 5:20 a.m. and can sleep in to uh about 7 a.m.

Today I am thankful for...

...music. It just soothes my soul. I have been meaning to post about this since last Friday. At the end of the school day last Friday around 3 p.m. I found myself alone in my classroom. I turned the radio on and went to work with just me and the music. I left work that day feeling good because I had some me time. I was a better mom and wife because of it.

It doesn't really matter to me what I am listening to I just find that it helps relax me. I do find that when I get stressed I will grab my iPod and shuffle the songs.

Music can also take me back in time. Sometimes it just puts a smile on my face and sometimes it makes the tears run down my face. Music is so moving!

Today I am thankful for...

...Facebook. I have recently reconnected with so many people that I went to school with. Not only people I spent high school with, but people way back from kindergarten. I grew up in a small town and most of the people that I went to kindergarten with also graduated with me. I just got done chatting on FB with a friend from school. The Internet is a great thing! Just think of how many people I haven't heard from in over 15 years, that I now get to catch up and chat with because of it!

Today I am thankful for...

...the US Veterans. The men and women who stand up and fight for our country and help us remain a free country.

Today I am thankful for...

...the fact that it is Saturday and I didn't have to wake up at 5:20 a.m. like I have to Monday through Friday for work. Today I woke up a little after 7, it was wonderful to say the least. Not having to turn the alarm off and jump in the shower, make and pack lunches, get myself and the kids dressed and out the door by 6:45 a.m. Tomorrow will be another morning of sleeping past 5:20 a.m. and I can't wait!

Now I am off to shower and get some laundry done so we can go to Tyler's soccer game and then off to Eric's race. The rat race still continues but not so early. :0)