Thankful Thursday (Whether I Like It or Not)

I don't really intend to do Thankful Thursdays as often as I do them. I mean, I don't have a schedule or anything telling me to do that. It just seems like things go more wrong on Thursdays than other days. (Whatever happened to the whole "Manic Monday" stereotype???) And on those days, I could easily go down a slippery slope to a pity party.

Which I may or may not have done today. :)

One child's sport is over with, the other had a ride to her practice tonight. I had made plans to make dinner with my firstborn (it is his week). And I knew there would be a lot of homework for the third child. And with child 4...well, I just have to be on guard all of the time. I never know what he might be planning.

And then hubby decided to go out of town for the day, meaning a late night arrival.

Okay. I can handle that.

Well, until I found out that Child 2's ride had a sick child.

And that Child 1 was apparently out of lunch money and I didn't know it. (I am supposed to get alerts but somehow didn't...)

Oh, and we had sick students leaving school left and right.

And my head was throbbing most of the day.

I suddenly went from "I can handle this" to "I am REALLY stressed!"

And that is when I realized I needed a Thankful Thursday.

Because no matter what, I have a lot to be thankful for. And One to be thankful to.

So, here are a few things I am thankful for today...

• It didn't snow. :) (I am trying not to think about the forecast for next week.)
• Hubby and I are going to have a DELICIOUS V-day dinner. Well, the kids will too. We are going to share. Very romantic, isn't it?
• Our dog makes me laugh. She is into playing chase right now. She wants me to try to get her toys from her but when I step by her, she takes off running. Yet if I don't chase her, she is at my heels, waiting for me to notice her to take her toys. I wonder if I can count this all as exercise?
• Overall, it has been a fairly good week for the kids. Of course, we still have a day to go.
• This is my favorite time of year to teach. I am watching the kids grow leaps and bounds. Trust me, I am not taking credit. I just love getting to watch!
• I ended up making a payment online for Child 1's lunch. And though it said it COULD take 24 hours to show up (meaning he wouldn't be eating today), it didn't. And he got to eat. So I guess I am thankful for the ability to do all that ONLINE.
• Somehow Child 3 finished up all of her homework and her Valentines. I have to say, I have dreaded Valentines with her in the past. Fine motor skills are not a strength, so the writing process can be painful. Except this year it wasn't. She really took her time writing, and I really had to do very little to help. That is something to be thankful for.
• Another iPhone app...Grocery IQ. I promise, I am not getting any kickbacks from Apple for these app praises. They are actually free apps, so I am not sure what kind of kickback I would get if I could. Anyway, when I run out of something, like toilet paper, I just use my phone to scan the barcode and it saves to a grocery list. The grocery list is automatically saved by aisles in the order my store is. The best part is that if my dear hubby went to the store tomorrow, he could click on the app and see what we need, checking them off as he found them. It is just nice and saves us a lot of frustration (like having no toilet paper).
• After telling Child 2 I just couldn't take her to volleyball practice (due to the little ones' bedtimes), hubby ended up finding a friend she could carpool with. SUCH a relief. I am thankful for a hubby that would take the time to do that AND for a friend who was willing to help out when we were in a tight spot.
• Thankful for time cooking with Child 1. (Each week one child gets to plan and cook a meal with me...so we get that "together time" once a month at least!) He wanted to make red velvet cupcakes, so I got to share a few things I know about baking and decorating.
• a hot bath after a work out
• a DVR so I can watch American Idol after kids are in bed without interruption
• health. There is a lot of sickness this time of year. And my kids have coughs and runny noses. But so far, other than one case of pneumonia over Christmas, we have not had any "stay at home" illnesses. I can only hope that continues.
• my dark chocolate with sea salt caramel Ghirardelli square...a 63 (I think) calorie taste of heaven for me each day. (Even better...chilled in the freezer)
• a warm house on a cold, dreary day
• hubby made it home safely

I am sure there is more. No, I KNOW there is more.

But I better head to bed.

So, what are you thankful for today?

Reba