Thursday, November 24, 2011

Gratitude Challenge

Let's Take the Metro offered an awesome challenge a month ago: The Gratitude Challenge: Write a list of 100 things you are grateful for and post it on Thanksgiving Day. I've been working on it all month and have my list ready to share!




Tyler and SashaTyler and Sasha
August 2011

  1. I am thankful to have two healthy daughters.

  2. I am thankful to have at least an online support network, if not a strong local one.
  3. I am thankful Lauren introduced me to blogging. I love expressing myself here and writing articles for other sites as well.
  4. I'm grateful that I can maintain a positive attitude through as many Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having.
  5. I'm grateful for The Bradley Method of childbirth and that I kept my workbook from my last round.
  6. I'm grateful for our library system, as a resource and as a meeting space.
  7. I'm grateful for hand-me-down clothes because we had almost no winter clothes for Sasha until I got them.
  8. I am so glad Sasha gets along well with my Doula and that my Doula is so easygoing.
  9. I am thankful that we have never had to go hungry.
  10. I am thankful for the growth in virtual schools and for Epic school in particular. Without these, I don't think I could manage to homeschool my teenager right now.
  11. I am grateful that hospital staff were able to determine what was wrong with my stepmother and take her off the blood pressure meds that stopped her heart! Dad thought she was going to die.
  12. I'm thankful for Google Maps, without which I would spend more time figuring out where I'm going.
  13. I am grateful to have a roof over our heads!
  14. I'm grateful to Ahmet for challenging me to focus on my gratitudes.
  15. I'm thankful for Spencer's weight gain - right on track and slightly light. This will help me argue my chance to carry to term.

    Sasha and Daddy ~ playing in bedSasha and Daddy ~ playing in bed
    August 2011
  16. I am grateful for every moment of watching Elmo and Sasha play in the bed together. Always smiles and giggles for me, too!
  17. I am thankful for free products to review on my blog! I only request items I actually want and think my readers might like, too.
  18. I am grateful that I already know the proper safety measures for earthquakes (I think). (I stood in a door jam.)
  19. I am grateful for all the extra socialization time I get with our new roommate. I'm a people person!
  20. I am grateful for the Boba Carrier I received for review on my blog. I never could have afforded it given our current financial situation.
  21. I am thankful for the break in the cold weather and the return to just normal cool Fall weather we are having today.
  22. I am grateful for all the meals our roommate loves to share with me and my girls.
  23. I am grateful for *lots* of quality time with my family.
  24. I am grateful for what sleep I managed to get this morning after staying up most of the night with Sasha.
  25. I am grateful to my supportive husband who stayed up through the night with me when I was having meltdowns.
  26. I appreciate quiche! (and my roommate for having it ready shortly after I got up today!)
  27. I appreciate online banking as it has made tracking our money SO much easier!
  28. I am SO thankful that my nipples have not been overly tender, considering the amount of bad-latch nursing Sasha has been doing since last night!
  29. I am thankful for walks with my family, especially with this new Boba Carrier!
  30. I am thankful for vegetables and my love of them.
  31. I am thankful for the ability to calm and soothe my daughter with nursing, even if my nipples are awful sore since she has been feeling a bit under the weather.

    Sasha playing in the driveSasha playing in the drive ~
    as seen from the side porch
  32. I am thankful for the side porch at our new residence. It is a great place to sit and watch Sasha play!
  33. I am thankful Sasha gets to go outside several times per day now, rather than once in a blue moon.
  34. I appreciate the no smoking rule in our new house (roommate has breathing problems). This is what has lead to our spending more time outside.
  35. I am ever grateful for my husband's calming effect on me. This is also why he makes such a great birthing partner.
  36. I'm thankful for some sort-of alone time with my husband when we manage to steal it.
  37. I'm thankful for our roommate's Waldorf experience. Sasha has really enjoyed doing songs with her, including some speech therapy type songs!
  38. I am grateful for the barter system!
  39. I am grateful for naps with my little one.
  40. I am thankful to see a relationship actually budding between my husband and my daughter (his stepdaughter). They have previously only tolerated each other, but I'm finally seeing them interact.
  41. I'm grateful for hand-me-down baby items. I think I'm going to be getting another item shipped to me by a friend.
  42. I am grateful for a busy day in which we accomplished much!
  43. I am so grateful for the open and honest relationship I share with my husband. I appreciate that I can talk about my fears openly with him.
  44. I am thankful for peanut butter - fast, cheap protein!
  45. I am very thankful for a solid night of sleep last night! My patience was vastly improved this evening due to that!
  46. I am thankful that I grew up with a computer in our home (when most didn't have one) so I have always been comfortable with them and got a real head start.
  47. I am grateful to my mother for having taught me (through observation) the fine art of returning items. She later said I surpassed even her skills. Talk about a proud moment, she was the queen!
  48. I am grateful for those last two months I spent working for / with my mother. That was time together I would not have had otherwise.
  49. I am thankful for the WIC program. It has helped a lot with our grocery bill!
  50. I am thankful for Solitaire and Spider Solitaire as they serve as good distractions while I'm nursing Sasha to sleep at night.
  51. I am grateful for the relationships in my past, for helping me along the way to becoming who I am today.
  52. I am thankful for a decent (if not great) night of sleep.
  53. I am thankful to have a "Belly Buddy" just a few weeks ahead of me.

    Jenni, our doulaJenni, our doula
  54. I am so grateful to have found a doula with whom I connect and who was willing to take on our case pro bono. We have zero doula budget.
  55. I am thankful for having our doula to donate items through. She had a good home lined up for my first breast pump and will distribute other items for us as well.
  56. I am thankful for our roommate, a "Grandy" with whom Sasha is very comfortable. I'm also thankful that he doesn't mind sharing his plate because she decided she wanted his dinner tonight - a huge improvement over the nothing she has been eating for dinner lately.
  57. I am grateful to have gotten through this rough (physically and emotionally) day... especially without having shed any tears! I received some bad news and wasn't sure I was going to manage it.
  58. I am grateful for "The Free Store" - for our community, as a place to donate items, and because they are available to us as well.
  59. I am grateful when I'm given the opportunity (and am able) to drop everything and be there for a friend.
  60. I am thankful to have learned about diabetic retinopathy and even more thankful that I do NOT have it so far!
  61. I am grateful for Tyler's homeschool teacher. I couldn't do it on my own at this point and she is great.
  62. I am thankful for the Healthy Start program and my case worker.
  63. I am grateful for Snopes which helps keep me from opening and/or falling for nasty emails.
  64. I am grateful that the hand-me-down car seat we got did NOT come with a manual. When I called to get one, I found out that this seat is part of a recall and they're sending me a repair kit for the handle bolts! If the manual had been with the seat, I would likely never have known about the recall.

    Samantha & SashaSamantha & Sasha
    September 2011
  65. While I wish he did get more time, I am thankful that my husband gets to visit with his other daughter for a couple of hours almost every Thursday.
  66. I am thankful the ants didn't move with us!
  67. I am grateful for the attention to detail at my doctor's office as they caught a billing error by the specialist that resulted in my referral being denied. All should be well now soon.
  68. I am so grateful to have a washer & dryer available to me 24/7. It is such a huge convenience by comparison to having to walk down to the laundromat and pay per load! I've just finished catching up about 8 loads of laundry - just for my teenager!
  69. I am thankful for water keys. 'Nuff said.
  70. I am grateful for tutorials. Yay!
  71. I am thankful for evenings when Daddy magically has extra energy and stays up to hang out and play with our girls.
  72. I am grateful to feel like I can call them "our girls."
  73. I am thankful for the awesome grater thingy that our roommate has. I hate grating cheese, but always buy block cheese. I finely shredded nearly a pound of cheese last night and it was so easy!
  74. I am thankful for greasy burger joints, I love them! But...
  75. I am grateful I haven't tried/found any greasy burger joints close to home or I might want them more often!
  76. I am grateful for the sense of humor of my friends!
  77. I am so grateful for all the help we've received from our "Boy Brandon."
  78. I am thankful to be giving my husband a son. He has always wanted to have a son.
  79. I am grateful for the quiet time I have alone at night after everyone else has gone to sleep.
  80. I am grateful for gorgeous Fall weather in which to take a morning, afternoon, or even night walk with my family.
  81. I am thankful for leftovers; dinner and dessert!
  82. I am grateful to The Organic Sister (in her older blog version) for inspiring me to the epiphany: I truly can attain big dreams, and I deserve to do so!
  83. I am thankful for YouTube, mostly because it lets me listen to music that I used to own but left behind a few years ago. I often miss my music and I'm slowly building a play list that includes at least some of those songs and several of those artists.
  84. I am thankful for feeling my little boy wiggle in my belly and for being able to share that with my family.
  85. I am thankful for those days when Elmo cooks breakfast, even though he doesn't make it just the way I like it.
  86. I'm thankful we have a portable DVD player for evenings when Daddy is playing a video game and our roommates are hosting a book club in the rest of the house to work on a Service Project. Sasha played a lot, but eventually I needed a solid distraction while the ladies were wrapping stuffed animals.
  87. I am grateful for hugs, from my girls and my hubby especially.
  88. I am thankful for "lap pads," which come in handy on the rare occasion when Sasha wets her bed.
  89. I am very grateful that Elmo's migraine went away.
  90. I am thankful for Netflix! It was the best gift I ever got for my husband. We've gotten to watch a lot more movies this way. And we cut cable television out completely. We've been spoiled without commercials, though. Sasha doesn't understand why her shows stop when she watches cable tele.
  91. I am grateful to have discovered Elimination Communication. "Potty Training" has been SO much easier with Sasha than it ever was with Tyler! I expect it to be very helpful with Spencer, too.
  92. I am thankful that I actually used baby sign language this time around. It has been invaluable for communication with Sasha.
  93. I am grateful to have finally done enough research before actually having a son that I made the best decision regarding circumcision.
  94. I am grateful for the sewing machine me ex-mother-in-law passed along to me years ago.
  95. I am thankful I'm a dork. Its fun to be a dork.
  96. I am grateful to have gotten a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, rather than having that news hit us on our son's birth day.
  97. I am thankful to my husband for taking the girls on a walk, time I spent to get a solid start on a small sewing project.
  98. I am thankful for Glucerna (meal replacement drink for diabetics) for when I just can't bring myself to eat another snack.
  99. I am grateful for Google - my all time favorite search engine for years now!
  100. I am thankful that my husband supports my ideas, regardless how far fetched or crazy they may sound.
Elmo on Baby ToySilly Daddy on Baby Toy

Read the resulting list at Let's Take the Metro: The Gratitude Challenge. You can also find responses to this challenge from:

What do you feel gratitude about today? this month? this lifetime?

at 5:33 AM
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