What I am thankful for

I have alot of things to be thankful for this year. I have an adorable, healthy baby boy who has managed to rock my world and fill my heart with more joy and love than I ever thought possible. In my younger days, I thought I never wanted children,even though I loved to be around them I always felt that motherhood was not for me...17 months later I have a totally new perspective. I am thankful that I have such a wonderful husband who is the best Dad in the world-even though he struggles every morning to cope with two early risers in the house. I am thankful that my parents have been able to experience being grandparents (my brother does not have children and I am almost too old to have any more). I am thankful that we are still making some progress on the house and that we got some of the new windows in before winter hit-it has been the most beautiful fall I have ever experienced in OK. I am thankful that we had a chance to play and love a dog that nobody wanted, and were able to give him a good life till he could live no more..I am thankful that I have learned to let things go and not worry about a messy house or money as much as I used to and take each day for what it is.
I will be thankful when the mailman drops off the mail at work and I can go home for the day and enjoy the weekend with my family.No shopping, just enjoying some quality time together and of course OSU vs OU-go pokes!!!

Non-Negotiable

This will be a short post today I am pretty excited today that I can go and hear Ree (The Pioneer Woman)speak at OU today. She has been one of my favorite bloggers for a long time. Actually I think hers is one of the very first blogs I started reading...
Not sure what I will ask her but I really would like to meet her in person.

WORKING MOMMY WEDNESDAY

My Top ten Non-Negotiables

1) Trust in God
2) Be patient good things will come-I always say this in Ukranian. It sounds alot different but hubby has learnt this one well
3) Never buy it unless its is on sale-it will go on sale so if you don't need it right now..wait
4) Don't speak to me until I have my morning coffee-give me 5 minutes then talk to me.
5) Don't throw it out unless it does not have other use-I love boxes of any type and I keep them in a stash because I know I will always have another use for them.
6) I don't do social networking sites (Facebook/Twitter/My Space)and don't post pictures of my little guy on them either.
7) Canada Rocks!!!-I am very proud Canadian.
8) I am leaving this one blank......I'll need it someday-I think this one will refer back to social networking sites someday (ie: I should not have to have a Facebook account to enter a contest).
9) Homecooked is always better-take out should be saved for emergencies only.
10) Everything in moderation...

#2) Plastic surgery for a Job-yeah right! The only thing I would do..get my teeth bleached if that counts.

Feel the Breeze

Okay so I downloaded the pictures backwards but you get the idea... we have had this wood panelling in our living room since we moved in three years ago this week (hard to believe). We had several ideas on what we were going to do. We thought about a white wash, but ultimately we decided to tear it all down. Look closely at the walls that is not art- it is carpenter ants behind the panelling-it looked pretty cool but can you imagine if we would have just painted over the panelling with all that dammage behind it? We were sick of the living room looking and feeling like a dungeon-even with the paint, which would have probably taken 10 gallons it still would have felt heavy. The new windows that hubby installed yesturday are gorgeous, I was very skeptical that they would look "puny" compared to the massive plate glass window that was installed before. It makes such a difference-why we didn't do this a year ago...Best of all the new windows pop open for easy cleaning and they open to allow fresh air to circulate. Oh and I can see through these, our other windows had so much dirt in between them that they were "uncleanable" Hubby did a nice job framing it all in. I will post more pics as we go...

#2. Honest confessions about motherhood-My comments/responses to Julia's are in bold.


Motherhood is hard. By far it is the hardest thing I have ever done

Marriage with kids is hard. 1 kid its still hard

I wish I could say that I was ok with a messy house. I'm not either I feel like I go in circles-didn't I just pick that up???

I'm proud of my kids and the things I've taught them in the few short years of their lives. My little guy can speak French well he sings in French

I don't like whining voices. Please try again when the whiny-ness has been fixed. Whining is driving me crazy especially with a tantrum thrown in on the side

Potty-training should be easier than it is. If I can teach a newborn to breastfeed, I can surely teach a 2 year old how to pee on the toilet. Haven't started this one yet, hoping Daddy will take the lead on this one

I don't get it right every time, but I learn, pray and fix it next time. Patience is alot harder and sometimes I have to forgive myself.

I love my job. I love impacting the lives of other kids. And with the new position I am in (program director!), I feel a new sense of pride to grow our program and make it huge! No comment (I am not really liking my job anymore and I do not have the passion I used to)

I love my family more. They are the reason I work hard and the reason I rush home at night. The highlight of my day is seeing my little guys face when I pick him up after work

It's been a hard road to learn to let go of perfection. The perfect schedule, the perfect toy, the perfect food, the perfect sleep schedule, the perfect everything. Let. It. Go. This is alot harder than it sounds but I try to take it day by day.