30 Days of Thankfulness Day 30....a few days late.

For the last of the 30 days, I have to say the thing I am more thankful for than anything else. I am thankful for my beautiful, wonderful daughter who is the center and joy of my life.

I always knew I was going to be a mother. I have always said that if I could have, I would have majored in motherhood in college. I had always planned to be a stay at home mom. I love every single part of being Kalaya's mother. It is amazing to watch her grow and change into her own little person, even on the days when that means being stubborn, screaming and arching her back to attempt to get her way. (it doesn't work) I love watching her interact with others, learn new words, discover new joys and to cuddle and kiss her when life doesn't go her way. I am so proud to be Kalaya's mommy and I cannot wait to add more babies to our family some day. Each day of motherhood is more wonderful than I had ever imagined that it could be and I never knew how much I could love another human being.

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 29

Today I am thankful that some people are already possibly interested in our house so our lease may get taken over soon!!! Keep your fingers crossed! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but it happened really fast, which means others may follow. HOORAY!!!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 25-28

Oh, who am I kidding? This has been way too crazy a month to actually blog each day! Here we go:

Day 25: Today is Thanksgiving! I am thankful for my husband. I can never say enough about how amazing this man is. When we were dating and decided to get engaged and married, I thought I knew how wonderful he was/is and that we were perfect together. But, you know, the longer we're married and the more time that passes, the more I realize that it was God who knew we should be together and created us to be a family together. He was intervening the day that we met. Little did we know.... Nelson is a fantastic father and an amazing husband. I love being married to him and I love raising a child with him. He is the most understanding husband of a mother. He has never resented any time that I spend with Kalaya vs him. He is always willing to let me get some time to myself if I need it. He has been so supportive and understanding on all of the decisions we made about parenting. HE was the one who suggested co-sleeping and exclusively nursing, never forcing her to cry it out and always felt that we have years and years alone, so why waste time away from our kids now?? We totally understand each other as parents and were meant to be parents together. He is romantic and thoughtful, kind and considerate and there are so many things about him that other wives would be incredibly jealous of and probably not believe. : )

Day 26: Today I am thankful it is Black Friday!!! I have never done this before, this was my first year. I have several friends who do this every year, so I decided to start. I was really organized. The ads get leaked several days in advance, so I was able to plan my shopping very precisely. (thank you internet!!) I narrowed it down to Toys R Us, Target, Kohl's, Burlington Coat Factory, and K Mart. Toys R Us actually opened on Thanksgiving at 10pm this year, which my friend Sarah and I attempted to visit at opening. YIKES!! We decided to go back at 1 instead and we walked right in. They had the items we wanted (play kitchens for our girls) and a couple of extras. My husband and most of the other people I know think we were/are crazy, because it took 2 1/2 hours of waiting in line at just one store. But, I was with a friend that I can talk to for hours, so it went really fast actually and we got GREAT deals. By the time we were done at Toys R Us, Kohl's and Target had opened, so we went there. I finished off with K Mart, but she didn't need to go there. I got almost all of my shopping done for Christmas and I saved SOOOOO much money. I am totally doing it again next year, it's addicting!!

Day 27: Today I am thankful for moving day!!! We loaded up the truck, moved some stuff to mom and dad's and put the rest in storage. The move actually went really quickly and easily. I felt like I had planned and packed really well. Now as soon as we get that lease taken care of, we can start saving for that down payment!!!

Day 28: Today I am thankful for my extended family. It's so nice that all of Kalaya's grandparents are nearby and that she gets to see them often. Today we drove down to see Nelson's family to have Thanksgiving dinner. It's always a big group and lots of people, which is neat, because my side of the family is just my parents here in town. Everyone loves Kalaya and she gets lots of attention and affection.

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 24

Today I am thankful for an income. Actually 3, though the 2 that I get are not large. I find myself focusing so much on how much money that I wish we had. I need to take more time to realize just how blessed we are. We are lucky to have an income from Nelson's job that can support our family with me as a stay at home mom. We always have more than enough and can get extras when we want them. I am able to earn an income from our church and from being a nanny which allows me to be with my daughter at home. We have always been able to pay our bills on time and we have good credit to rely on for unexpected things, like car repairs or doctor's visits. Luckily, we've never had anything too major.

Today is payday and even though we complain that most of it goes right to bills, especially rent, we are lucky to be able to pay for all of those things. They provide us with a nice house, a car, insurance (car and health), food, clothes, and plenty of extras like cable, phones and internet. Hopefully, someone else will want our nice home soon, so that they can take over our lease. : ) Not a complaint, just hope.

We are rich in so many ways and have never truly needed anything. And, we are even MORE blessed, since Nelson's new job means an increase in pay and relocating to my parent's house, which allows us to pay off the (small) credit card debt we have started to accumulate (moving costs, etc) really quickly and allows us to save up to buy a house. We are blessed!!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 23

Today I am thankful for the SNOW! It's so pretty and magical. Of course, it's easy for me to say that, I don't have to drive in it or worry about the ice. And now the sun is out and the temperature is still below freezing, but I get to enjoy it from inside my house with heating. I brought a snow ball into the house for Kalaya to see and we'll go out in it for a little while today. She liked the snow ball and didn't act like it was cold at all. She carried it all over the house and kept rubbing it on her face. Silly girl!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 18-22

Wow, blogging every day is more of a commitment than I realized! I take that back. Blogging every day while packing for a move in only a couple of weeks is harder than I thought. There are boxes all over my house and we've taken several loads over to our newly acquired storage unit. The truck is reserved for this Saturday, so this week is full of last minute packing. We are supposed to have everything gone and clean by the 6th, so I am not worrying about cleaning. AT ALL actually. It's really hard to motivate myself to clean regular things, because I know I have to do a giant deep clean soon, so why bother?? No one can come to my house, the bathrooms and floors are disgusting. Anyway, here goes on 30 days....

Day 18: Today I am thankful for Kalaya's increasing vocabulary. I can't believe how many words she has picked up! Every day she says more and more. I can't even list them all, but some recent ones are: all done, there he is!, church, circle, apple, uncle and baby. She is such a talker!

Day 19: Today I am thankful for my Mom. My mom is truly amazing and I have nothing but respect for her. I love her so much! In the time since I left for college, our relationship has especially grown. Probably because we have so much in common now; teachers, education majors, mothers, and stay at home moms. We've had some amazing experiences to get to know each other even better, especially our 2 week tour of Europe in 2005 and teaching at the same school together in 2008. And, now we're going to be living together again, which I'm looking forward to, because we get to spend time together and walk our dogs together again. When we're together, we talk non-stop and no one else can get a word in. One amazing thing (of many) about my mom is how she has overcome, no CONQUERED cancer. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2003 and it didn't seem to phase her in the least. (though, I know it did) She did all of her chemo treatments on Fridays and was back teaching Kindergarten every Monday morning. When her white blood cell count dropped, she continued teaching with a surgical mask on every day. She never complained and has been cancer free for so long know that I honestly forget she had it. People I haven't seen in a while ask me 'how's your mom?' with that look of sympathy and I get so confused, until I remember, oh right!! She's doing fantastic. I always remember my mom at every sporting event, every recital, every play or parent's night. My mom is the kind of woman I've tried not to be (as a teenager), but am so glad that I have become so much like her. I love our relationship and I love her!

Day 20: Today I am thankful for my brother, because today is his birthday! He is turning 26. I love my brother. He will always be my little brother, even though he is now 6' 6". We don't always agree on everything and we've had some good fights over the years, but overall, we have definitely had a great relationship our whole lives. I have so many memories of us over the years. We would never have admitted we were best friends as kids, but we always were able to get along and play together. We had some great experiences that we experienced together throughout childhood; camping in the redwoods, going to the lake and on the boat at Ma Ma and Pa Pa's house, making haunted houses in the bathroom, playing crossing guard, SPUD, pretending to pack and play 'going on the airplane', Tang sales, bike riding, playing Home Alone, and so many more. As we got older, we got closer and our activities got were a bit different; shopping together, late night talks in the hot tub, cheering for each other at sporting events, brudda and sista everything! Even though he is a grown man serving in the Army and who has a 2 1/2 year old daughter, he is still my little brother that I feel protective of. It's (very) hard knowing that he makes his own decisions and that he no longer comes to me for advice for everything from girls to clothes. I've had to let him go and know that he will do the right things and that everything will work out for the best. But, he will always be that little boy with the big glasses and the 3 cowlicks. Or the awkward middle schooler with glasses, acne and braces. (sheesh, we never stood a change, I had the same traits) Or sometimes I think of him as the uber-Christian track star who started gaining confidence in himself as he overcame those glasses and acne and got those braces off and started to reinvent himself with piano and singing. I'm really proud of the man he's become and I hope he knows that I love him.

Day 21: Today I am thankful for my Daddy. Growing up, I always called myself a daddy's girl. I have always had a very good relationship with my dad, even as I've grown older and we don't always see eye to eye on things in this world. : ) We've always been able to talk openly and honestly about almost any thing together. My dad has been a wonderful provider for our family and has accomplished a lot. He worked so that my mom could be home with my brother and I, which we are all very thankful for. He taught me so many things over the years; from how to throw a softball and shoot a basket to different lessons of the Bible and help with math homework. He always worked a fair distance away from home, but he made it to so many sporting events and other activities we participated in. He exposed us to music through his participation in church choirs (and still does). He instilled the trait in me that it didn't matter what others think, maybe too much some times, since both of us get in trouble for our mouths and tempers. But, I know that my inner strength and confidence in myself was from my dad and his positive words over the years. I'm incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities both of my parents have provided for me and I love them both very much.

Day 22: Today I am thankful for Elmo and Sesame Street, both of which allow me to get 45 minutes (not in a row, but it's better than nothing) of packing and cleaning. I hate that I'm using the TV as a babysitter, but it's not as though I'm ignoring her. And, it's Sesame Street, at least it's educational!! This habit will change after the move. : )

30 Days of Thankfulness: Wife Edition

Today, I am thankful for my beautiful wife! (Actually, every day I'm thankful, but that's beside the point.) There are many reasons of course (newest reason: skinny jeans), but I had my iPod on shuffle the other day and this song came on, and every time I hear it, I think about how grateful I am for her to be willing to marry me fifteen years ago, or however long ago it was.

It's kind of a strange thought, because the song itself is about a person who is dying (note: I'm not dying; or at least I hope not) and is reflecting upon their life fondly, but wistfully. Or at least that's how I interpret it. The part which resonates with me the most is the 'chorus,' if you can call it that, because it makes me think about how I need to always remember to tell her how much she means to me. It's very short, and very simple, which not only describes me perfectly, but gets right to the point:

Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see,
No one knows this more than me
As I come clean

Not even kidding, that line gets me choked up every time. Granted, I am a big sack of sappiness, but still. Sometimes it's hard for me to express any emotion, and it can be easier when someone else does it for me. So thanks Eddie Vedder (and Pearl Jam), for writing something that I could see myself saying when I'm dying of old age in the year 2100. Here's the whole song (which, by the way, is called 'Just Breathe,' if you'd like to give it a listen):

Yes, I understand that every life must end, ah
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, ah
Oh I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands
the ones I love...
Some folks just have one,
yeah, others, they've got none, ah

Stay with me...
Let's just breathe.

Practiced are my sins, never gonna let me win, ah
Under everything, just another human being, ah
Yeah, I don't wanna hurt, there's so much in this world
to make me believe...

Stay with me...
You're all I see.

Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see,
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean.

I wonder every day as I look upon your face, ah
Everything you gave and nothing you would take, ah

Nothing you would take
Everything you gave...

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see,
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean, ah

Nothing you would take...
Everything you gave.
Love you till I die...
Meet you on the other side.

(Side note: I am 99% sure Kelly hates this song...which is hilarious to me.)

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 16 and 17

Day 16: Today I am thankful for musicals! I think I have always been around musicals, especially if you count Disney movies. I remember listening in my grandfather's car to the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack from a very young age. I've always known the songs from Mary Poppins. I wanted to be Annie, one of the Von Trapp children and Dorthy. My parents made sure we were exposed to theater at a youth and I'm SO grateful for it. We lived in Chico, California, which had this awesome 'light opera' and community theater that ran 4 shows each season and my parents bought tickets for each season. It wasn't anything fancy, but at that age, we thought it was great! I plan to take our kids to community theater when they're old enough. I saw so many shows that I wouldn't have seen otherwise: My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Annie, Jesus Christ Superstar, and so many more. As I got older, I got to see professional, Broadway level shows such as Phantom of the Opera (3 times!), The Lion King (twice, including once ON Broadway), Beauty and the Beast (same), Chicago, Wicked, Movin' Out, Peter Pan, and more that I can't remember. I've been to countless school plays and have been involved in theater productions through out my life. I really miss it and am planning to start looking back into it, once we get settled after the move and have more options available! Truly, I believe life should be one big musical. And, all of a sudden Fox came out with a TV SHOW that has a musical every week!! Fantastic. Glee, you were a few years too late, but I love you anyway!!

Day 17: Today I am thankful that we found a place to store items at a reasonable price and have the U Haul reserved. I feel like I'm on track with packing and feel fairly organized. I just have to remember to check in and around each box before taping it shut, because my 'helpful' 18 month old likes to add things to the boxes and take others out. : )

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 15

Today I am thankful for Mondays. I used to hate Mondays and dread them. I see people on Facebook every Monday morning stressed and complaining. But, now that I'm a stay-at-home-mom, I love Mondays! Our weekends are usually pretty busy and Sundays always start earlier than other days, so Monday is the day to recover. It's always nice to have Monday to recharge and (usually) catch up on cleaning, laundry and down time. Mondays are usually very mellow and pleasant. A lot of Mondays Kalaya and I stay in our pjs until the afternoon and just veg. I realize that when we have a second child, life will not be so simple. I also did not have such a simple time in Kalaya's first year. And, when she's teething or sick, I still have tough days. But, so far 18 months is a very pleasant age. She's old enough to entertain herself and play for long periods of time, but still needs a mommy enough that I feel special. I probably just jinxed it, but oh well. Today and next Monday are a bit more crazy, because I'm packing boxes and cleaning, but still nice and calm. Sorry Garfield, I like Mondays!!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 14

Today I am thankful to be 28!! Yay for fun birthdays! I had a very nice day, starting with a birthday blessing at church, a nice afternoon with my parents, my husband taking me shopping, dinner with good friends with yummy food, a home made birthday cake and an unexpected, perfect gift in the mail from my wonderful aunt; THE SOUND OF MUSIC SOUNDTRACK AND THE BLUE RAY SPECIAL EDITION!!

And, I 100% believe that birthday wishes come true and I made a good one!!!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 10-13

I haven't had a chance to blog the last few days, I have been packing boxes for the big move like crazy! You will notice that I have not been able to be thankful for getting out of a lease. ::sigh:: Hopefully that will work out soon....

Day 10 Today I am thankful for all things Disney. Everything from movies to theme parks, from princesses to monsters, I love it all. I absolutely cannot WAIT until I can some day take my kids to Disneyland. I am so excited for the magic of believing in all of the characters. I will probably sob my eyes out the first time my children meet Mickey!


Day 11 Since it is Veteran's Day, I definitely have to say I am thankful for those who have served our country. I am thankful for my brother, who is serving in the Army right now. I am thankful that he is truly happy serving for the United States and that he is willing to fight for our country. I am thankful for those in the past who served, fought and died to grant the people of our country the freedoms that we have. This day deserved more attention, but I just don't have time to blog about it, sorry!! (it has taken me 3 days to write this much!)

Day 12: Today I am thankful for DVR. It is a pretty shallow thing to say, but I do enjoy it. Maybe too much!! Ever since I had a breastfeeding newborn up at all hours of the night, I have been grateful for the freedom and options DVR has given me. It means that I don't feel guilty wanting to watch a show when I should be spending time with my daughter. We (okay, I) don't like to have the TV on around her. I prefer that she gets models of other ways to entertain oneself. DVR gives me the freedom to watch any shows after she goes to bed and need some down time. It also means that when we start letting her watch her own shows, we can allow her to watch them on our time, not a schedule. And, most importantly, I haven't watched any commercials since we got it!

Day 13: Today I am thankful for rain. I'm making myself say this, because it has been raining all day and it's actually driving me crazy. But, I'm choosing to focus on the positive. It keeps things green and growing!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 9

Today I am thankful for books!

I love to read. As long as I can remember, books have been a big part of my life. Very rarely am I not in the middle of multiple books. I read almost every single night before I go to bed a lots times throughout the day (if allowed) and I have been like this as long as I can remember.

Since my mom is a teacher, she started reading to my brother and I before we can ever remember. Both of my parents are avid readers, so we were exposed to reading all of our lives. We always had dozens and dozens of books to choose from at home. We took trips to the library some times multiple times per week.

Growing up, I loved what I consider classic kids books, but I don't know if everyone else read them. Characters like Francis, Clifford, The Berenstein Bears, Curious George, Harry, and so many more were huge parts of our lives.

When I was a little older, new friends were introduced: Ramona, Laura Ingalls, Anne Shirley, Aslan, Sara Crewe, The March Family, Charlie Bucket, The Aldens (can you name all of these books??), and for several years, the most important; Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacy, Dawn, Abby, Jessi and Mallory. I loved reading the same books over and over again. In fact, I still do. It's like meeting up with old friends. I still re-read the Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables and The Little House books ever year, along with several others.

I still love to read. I find new series to read and get hooked on. Harry Potter, Twilight, True Blood, Dan Brown, and many, many more. I still make regular trips to the library, especially now that I'm a mom. Kalaya has literally been read to since she was 4 months in the belly. She loves books, which just tickles me to death. She has dozens of board books and probably 300 picture books from when I was teaching. Though she won't sit still very long to have a book read to her, she will quietly sit and look at board books for 30-45 minutes at a time, which is amazing to me! We love books in the Sigrah household!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 8

Today I am thankful for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, which comes out next week!! In a way, it makes me sad too, because after the next movie comes out...no more books or movies to look forward to. : ( They'll all be done for good.

It may not be known to others just how much I love Harry Potter. Many of my college friends know that another friend and I started a Harry Potter Fan Club on our campus. And yes, it was totally nerdy. And totally awesome!! We found out later that we were the first official chartered Harry Potter club on a college campus in the US, which is pretty sweet. : ) We had several members each term, which was a pleasant surprise! And, everyone was so fun!

My favorite question that we used to get was, what do you do at meetings? We actually did a lot of different activities. We had trivia and game nights. We had debates and discussions about all of the different books. At that point, not all of the books were out, so we had big talks about connections and theories about what was going to happen before the series ended. (I said it was nerdy : )

We also did volunteer work with a local elementary school reading program. We went to the movie premiers at midnight, many in costume. (including yours truly!) We had white elephant parties with HP themed gifts. Probably my favorite activity we had were our feasts. We did them for holidays and the beginnings of the term. We would have a potluck and everyone would bring a HP themed dish; butter beer, poly juice potion, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes (what would we have done without Google??), Dumbledore Hair Pasta, Mandrake Leaf Salad and sooooo many more. We would decorate the room to look like Hogwarts; we put black paper over the lights and poked holes through the make the 'night sky', we made banners for all the houses and we hung candles from the ceiling.

I love those books. I love that JK Rowling created and entire world of magic and fantasy. I love all the creative ideas she came up with. I love the characters. The story lines are great and keep you hooked until the end. I love that she got so many kids and adults to start reading! I love that she brought just a little more magic and make believe into this world, something we can never have enough of!

One of my favorite parts of my summer in Europe, Platform 9 3/4!!!

And yes, those are the official club sweatshirts: The front says 'Be All the Muggle You Can Be' and the back says 'Dumbledore's Army' which a golden snitch. Yes, WE ARE AWESOME!!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 7

Today I am thankful for cute babies and family portraits. We went today to get pictures taken because, for some reason, we haven't had portraits taken in a YEAR! I am actually pretty disgusted with myself for this, especially since I didn't get 1 year pictures taken of her. : ( Oh well. We actually went to 2 places today, which may have made me crazy, but it went exactly how I wanted. Maybe I should explain.

This is what I wanted to accomplish with pictures: a family portrait for Christmas cards, some cute Christmas themed pictures of Kalaya for family members and some 18 month pictures in the dress I wore in my 18 month pictures. (my mom has saved a LOT of outfits from when I was a baby. Good job mom!)

So, we first went to JC Penney's, because I had good coupons for them, to get all of the pictures of Kalaya. Here is the site: https://viewimages.jcpportraits.com/myalbum My email is mcmahonkp@yahoo.com and the password is apollo11. We had a free session fee coupon for only one person, so we didn't do the family portrait at Penney's. We did get some fantastic deals and saved a lot of money. We did several with Kalaya in her Christmas outfit and several with my dress from when I was a baby. So cute!! In fact, there is one Christmas picture that will be used at our local JC Penney's to promote Christmas pictures this season!! (picture P13) I'm totally psyched, it is adorable!

It was crazy how well she did this time. Last year we had portraits taken for Christmas and she hated every second of it. We didn't get one smile in over an hour. Not ONE! In fact, we had to settle for catching a picture when she wasn't sobbing. It was a disaster and we paid waaaaay too much for a private studio. (although they were very helpful, very tolerant and really good quality pictures) This year was like a different kid! (major difference between 6 and 18 months!) She wore both outfits, allowed the change, let me change her hair style, sat or stood exactly where she was told and smiled big for the camera each time. She even said "cheese!" for almost all the pictures. And, it was during nap time on the day after changing back the clocks after having to wait longer than expected. She was fantastic, we are so proud of her.

Then, we went to Sears to take one of the family. I didn't want anything fancy, just a basic, quick picture. They also have really good coupons. They insisted on a few of her, which are cute, but I didn't buy any of them. (we have PLENTY from Penney's) We bought several of the family picture of us sitting on the ground together. I think she looks cute, but the picture isn't anything fantastic. However, it was cheap and we look nice and that was all I wanted!! You can see those here: http://www.searsphotos.com/Default.aspx Then log in with my email: mcmahonkp@yahoo.com and the password is apollo11. Click on My Albums at the top. She looks like such a big girl!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 6

Today I am thankful for shopping and new clothes!

One of my best mommy friends and I have our birthdays exactly 2 weeks apart, so the last two years, our families have celebrated on the weekend between the days. We had planned to do a mommy overnight to the beach this year, but it didn't work out. Instead, we did a mommy day of shopping instead. And it was fun!!

We (Sarah and I) are starting to think ahead to Christmas. Actually, we've been thinking about it for a couple of months. I am determined not to run up a credit card bill this year. For the last several years, all of a sudden it's 2 weeks before Christmas and Nelson and I run around grabbing presents for everyone, not giving it a second thought how much we're spending and put it all on credit, not thinking about how much we're spending. And then it takes awhile to pay everything off.

This year, I've been paying attention. I made a list of everyone we need to shop for, from family members to co-workers and everyone else in between. I brainstormed ideas for each person and gave myself an approximate amount to spend on each person. I've been buying a few things, here and there, waiting until good sales. I've checked prices and ads online to find the best deals. I'm paying with debit, instead of credit cards, which is scary, but such a relief when the bills come. And, I am SUPER excited, because Sarah and I are going to go out early on BLACK FRIDAY! I used to think those people were crazy, but this year is going to be great. Sarah is my veteran shopper, and I've gotten tips from other people who have done it. My goal is to be done with most, if not all of my Christmas shopping before December. Hooray!!

So, today we started out our trip with some Christmas stuff. We went to Ikea, Marshall's, Ross and Home Goods. We found some really good deals and got some good stuff. Sarah got almost all of hers done, which was great! I'm officially done toy shopping, except for Kalaya's kitchen, which I'm still debating about. I'm still looking on Craig's list, but Toys R Us is having a really good sale right now...I'm still thinking. I also got a lot of my relatives gifts taken care of. Hooray!

But, the best part was going to Target and doing a (mini) shopping spree just for ME! Sarah and I told ourselves that we were ONLY looking in women's clothing. NO KIDS CLOTHES OR TOYS Ever since our daughters were born, neither of us has really gone shopping for ourselves, other than the occasional necessary replacement of something basic or something on super clearance. I know that (for me), it's been a tough adjustment getting used to having a mommy body. Yes, I lost all of my pregnancy weight and a couple more pounds, but my body isn't the same. I can no longer fit into "junior" clothes, simply because of my hips. My breasts are different. There is extra skin (okay and maybe a little pudge) in places it wasn't before. It's not that I think I am fat, I just don't like clingy clothes any more or clothes that show my middle. I am just not comfortable showing off my body like I used to. Plus, as a mommy, I don't feel like it's really appropriate anyway. (it's okay for other moms, just not me)

I know that I am getting some birthday money. I told myself that I wouldn't look at prices. I would only look to see if I felt good in each item and not think about price. For once, I didn't even look at the clearance rack!! (this is a huge accomplishment) I figured, I'm shopping at Target, not Bloomingdale's, it's not like I'm going to find something more than $30 anyway!

I ended up with 4 sweaters, 3 shirts, and 2 pairs of pants. I didn't end up spending more than I had planned for and I hadn't even checked prices!! I love the stuff I got and it's just in time, because we are getting family portraits tomorrow. I love the stuff I got and I actually feel cute in all of it!! And, I bought a pair of skinny jeans, which I am still in shock about!! Sarah convinced me to try them on and they actually fit and I actually like how they look!! I feel really trendy : ) Maybe I'll actually post some pictures of my new clothes. Fun!!

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 5

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been holding this in for so long and I am so thankful to finally share:

NELSON GOT A NEW JOB TODAY!!!!!!

I am over the moon excited!!! He started applying back in May, so we have been playing the unsure-of-our-future game for several months. And this afternoon, the wait is over!

This means so many changes are in store for us. It is a new area of work for Nelson. He has worked in admissions offices ever since college graduation, both under grad and grad and was really worried about getting stuck there the rest of his life. But, his new job is in the advising office at Portland State! He is excited and I'm so proud of him! This means we can move back to OREGON!!!!!! I am over the moon about that. It means a pay increase, which is fantastic. (not a major one, but it will make a huge difference!) The only detail is that we signed a lease until June, but I am hoping to talk my way out of it first thing Monday morning. These are the new changes coming soon:

~We will be temporarily moving in with my parents. They are wonderful to let us do this, especially with an 18 month old. They have a large house, so it won't be too bad, but I still feel bad intruding. The plan is to be out by March. We hope. I have offered to take over cooking dinner every night, which my mom is thrilled about, since she's still teaching full time.

~The majority of our house will go into storage, for now.

~Once we get out of our lease and save up for a couple of months, we will be meeting with a financial advisor to figure out what we can afford as far as loans go....

~....so that we can buy a house!! This feels like such a major step, so adult and so exciting. We are going to take it slow and make sure we have a down payment of some kind, but we hope this will happen early next year! We are so ready to be done with renting and ready to have a house of our own!! We're hoping to buy in Northwest Portland/Beaverton, so our kids can go to Beaverton schools. Crazy to already be thinking about that, but we are hoping to be settled in our new place for at LEAST 5 years, if not many more. It's also near our church and my parents.

~Dependents of Oregon state school employees get 75% reduced tuition, so I will be going back to grad school, at least on a part time basis. Though, this probably won't happen until spring term. Which means I have to transfer credits from WOU or transfer to Portland State. Most likely, I'll transfer.

~I will be nannying 2 days a week for a new family, but not until May. The baby isn't even born yet : )

SO, I am very, very, VERY thankful for new jobs. Hopefully next week, I will be able to be thankful for breaking leases. But, one thing at a time, right?

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 4

Today I am thankful for FOOD!!

I am very thankful that I've never really known what it is to be hungry. I am thankful that I have always had plenty of food, more than enough, available to me. I'm thankful that Nelson and I have been able to always provide healthy food for our daughter. (and our dog too :)

I am thankful that I met friends who opened my eyes about our food industry. Even though it's horrible to learn about, I'm so glad that we've made so many changes in our family about how we buy food. I'm grateful to the people in this world who are opening the eyes of so many people about all of the horrors of the food industry: the poor treatment of the workers, the horrible conditions of the livestock, the terrible ingredients that make their way into so many of our foods, the chemicals, etc, etc, etc.

I'm thankful that people are casting more and more of their votes in favor of organics and foods with limited processing, so that companies out there are being forced to have better, healthier options for us and for our planet when it comes to buying food.

I am also thankful for the Food Network. Seems silly, but watching those shows is so inspiring to me! I love checking out and buying new cookbooks to try new recipes. I have slowly become obsessed with cooking and food. I think about it a LOT. I am always thinking of what I'm going to prepare for our next meal and how to do it. I love that I'm starting to be able to think up or modify recipes in my own way.

I am thankful for the women (I'd love to say people, but I haven't seen any site that men are in charge of) who have created the couponing movement. I'm grateful that I can find more ways to save money for my family.

I am thankful for the people who inspired me to make and create my own baby and toddler foods. It's so fun and so satisfying knowing exactly what goes into my baby. I love that she sees that food is grown, picked, bought, prepared, and cooked, rather than just coming from a box or jar. I love that she's tasting a wide variety of healthy foods.

I LOVE FOOD!! (and I'm very excited to eat a lot of it on the 25th and beyond!)

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 3

Today I am thankful for good health. It's definitely something I take for granted and need to be more grateful for.

I forget that even though my child has gotten colds, still doesn't always sleep through the night, sometimes won't eat what I put in front of her and sometimes screams bloody murder when being told she can't do something, she is a healthy, healthy child! She had no problems what-so-ever in the belly, at her birth or through out her infant months or toddler time so far. She has met each milestone more or less when she was supposed to. She has always been a healthy weight, length, etc. She got to come home with us right away from the hospital. All of her body parts function correctly and are forming developmentally appropriately. I forget these things and need to remind myself more often.

Along with that, I am grateful that if something does go wrong, we have doctors to take her to and it will be PAID FOR. I am incredibly thankful for this. I only wish all mothers and fathers were able to have this right (not privilege, EVERYONE is entitled to getting affordable treatment) that they wouldn't have to debate about whether or not to take their child to the doctor when they are sick or hurt, because they can't afford it.

I also need to be thankful for my own body. Yes, there are more days than not (unfortunately) that I focus on that extra roll, sag, zit or bag under my eye. That shouldn't be my focus. My body parts all function exactly as they're supposed to. (except for my eyes, but I am lucky enough that I have had vision correction as long as I've needed it) I am not in pain. I have no chronic illnesses. I've only been in the hospital twice, for my own birth and for the birth of my child. The only surgery I've had was for the greatest joy in my life. I've only had 2 minor injuries in my life. I am a healthy weight. I am not on any regular medications. I can do almost any physical activity I put my mind to. I am lucky, lucky, lucky. Most importantly, my body carried and delivered a beautiful, healthy baby for 40 weeks and has nourished her with my milk for almost 18 months.

I am thankful for good health and health care in and for my family and pray for those who don't have those joys.

30 Days of Thankfulness Day 2

Today I am thankful for living in the Great Northwest. I never appreciated just how much I love living and being in this part of the country until I left for a year, while Nelson went to grad school in Indiana.

There are many different aspects of living here that I enjoy:

~I love that we are close to both sets of Kalaya's grandparents, as well as one of her uncles and cousins. (if only my brother and his daughter would move here, it would be perfect! Though, I don't think that will ever happen)

~I love the mild climate. Until I lived in summer humidity and winter temperatures well below freezing, I didn't not realize what a joy this truly is. Sometimes I think that I get sick of the rain, but then I remember how beautiful and GREEN it is here all year round!

~I love the diversity of all aspects of life and the acceptance of those differences.

~I love that local, fresh produce is so readily available.

~GREEN takes on a whole new definition here with all of the options for recycling, reducing and reusing!

~I love living in BLUE states.

~We can drive to the beach, the mountains and almost any other climate within a few hours.

~Lots more that I can't think of off the top of my head.