For these things I am grateful

HEALTH: We just got word that a good friend of ours is in hospital. He's one of those amazing people who you'll talk to for only a few minutes, but feel like you've known him your whole life. He's about the same age as TDSH and has two kids of his own. I know people get sick and wind up in hospital every day, but it's somehow different when it's someone you know. It makes you examine you're own situation much more closely. How would I handle it if TDSH had a serious illness? Not a fun thing to think about, but it certainly makes me very grateful for our health.

LESLIE BECK: On a related note, I am grateful for Canadian nutritionist, Leslie Beck and her No Fail Diet book. I hate the fact that I am "dieting", but I don't see any other way to lose the remaining baby weight. One and a half weeks in and I'm down over six pounds. Not bad. I followed this diet two years ago and lost almost 25 pounds and managed to keep it off until I got pregnant.

MELTING SNOW: Man alive, am I grateful for melting snow. I could finally get the stroller out this week after a three-week hiatus. Abner and I have been out every day this week for hours on end traipsing around the neighbourhood, going to music class and getting errands done. It feels so nice to walk along a sidewalk and not worry about tripping and falling on ice.

MY GRANDPARENT'S ROCKER: Abner has been having a little trouble staying asleep lately. Each night she wakes up two or three times in the first few hours after we put her down to bed. Each time we give her a few minutes to calm down on her own before we head in and pick her up to rock in the rocking chair. I remember playing in this chair as a kid and I recovered it to match the nursery before Abner was born. As much as I love rocking her to sleep night after night, I do wish she would just sleep on her own though.

SMELLY T-SHIRTS: Since Abner was born we've had to learn tricks to get her to sleep. When she was little, all we had to do was put her on her side and she's be out like a light. As she got bigger, we tipped her mattress on an angle and that worked for a while. Then we would use her mobile to get her down, but then she began pulling it down on herself so we had to come up with something new. In a wave of inspiration, I took off my t-shirt one afternoon and tucked it into her crib with her. She was asleep in minutes. Each three-day-worn shirt lasts for about four or five days. As she crawls around her crib getting settled for a nap, she drags the shirt with her. It's so cute. So if you see me wearing the same t-shirt a few days in a row, now you know that I'm just stinking up a new one for Abner.

COMMENTS: You can't imagine how much I look forward to reading the comments I get on this blog (unless you're a blogger yourself that is - then you know exactly how exciting it is). If you feel so inclined, please feel free to make a comment - it would make my day.