Giving Thanks

So the holiday season has descended upon us. I may be getting a little sentimental here, but I believe that the spirit and joy of this holiday season is still alive and well. Although many people are unemployed, having financial difficulties, and possibly grieving the loss of a loved one, there are still many reasons to be joyful. It is always important to remember the paths that have led you to where you are today. It may have not been the easiest and it may not be perfect still, but it is how you have become who you are and why you are here now. I give thanks to those family and friends whom I have loved and shared laughter with. I give thanks to those opportunities that have presented themselves to make me a better person. I give thanks for the love and well-being of my child. I give thanks to the many blessings in my life that have allowed me to persevere through the rough times. It is for the reflection of these reasons and the gathering of loved ones that makes the holiday season so joyous, not what can be purchased in the store. My greatest wish this year is that others will also see the happiness in their lives and be thankful for what they do have instead of feeling down for what they don't have.

Not So Safe Safety Scissors

Ok we all know what safety scissors are. Round ends instead of sharp pointy ones. Designed for little kids. Well Liam had been cutting up paper and drawing downstairs right before we came upstairs to get ready for bed. I thought he had put all his craft stuff away. We were watching his favorite show before bed when I received a phone call. His show ends and he is laying on my bed jibber jabbering to himself. I turn my back for one minute and turn back around and see his scissors in his hand and a big freshly cut hole in his sock! I immediately take his scissors and explain to him that they are for paper only and he can not use them to cut anything else, especially his clothes. When I asked him why he cut his sock he begins to inform me that his sock was stinky. Really? It was impossible not to laugh. So apparently its ok to cut our socks if they are stinky from wearing them all day. I let him know that this is NOT ok. He just could not understand why it was not ok to cut stinky socks. I just could not understand a way to get through to him without laughing! Just another moment when I wish I had a video camera on the clapper system!

The Power of a Robe

Bath time is over and Liam is bouncing off the walls. I try to get him to settle down. I ask him countless times not to jump on the bed. He is talking 100 miles a minute. After lotion I help him get on his robe, and poof! Quiet! So soft and fuzzy, comfy cozy. It has magical properties that I will never know. Perhaps it is the sense of comfort lingering from the days of being swaddled and rocked to sleep. No idea. I do know that when I wear a robe, I don't really get that sense of calm like he does. I worry about it coming untied and if it is already untied, I am constantly tripping on the string part that ties. Sometimes it makes me to hot. Sometimes not warm enough. And most of the time I just think that the robe is useless and not practical. Seriously, unless you are a kid, who really needs a robe? It is essentially jammies for your jammies. If you are wearing your robe with nothing underneath then you must not have kids, live in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors, and must never expect to have company that has a tendency to drop in with no notice. I think my "robe" is reading a good book before going to sleep. Always seems to calm me down and I am relaxed. Everyone must have a robe of some sort. I wonder what other people's robes are?