one good thing 2/29

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.

This leap day was one of those days in which good things just do not come naturally. By dinner time I was racking my brain on what was just one good thing for the day. I was coming up empty. It was one of those days that starts with an overnight baby leak onto your freshly washed sheets. A day with a teething, no napping, whining baby. One of those days when the well runs dry in the middle of the hot shower you are taking to relax.   So as I was doing the dishes while dinner was cooking (and of course, on this day cursing the daily housework) I was struggling with what I might post for this days one good thing.

Which is sort of the whole point of this (supposed to be daily) exercise. Even on days like this, when it seems nothing is good, there are good things. Sometimes I just have to look for them. And right there out my window, was a good thing. It was after 6pm. The sky was still light. The silhouette of the trees on the darkening sky. I've always loved that. 

So I stopped everything I was doing and went outside to look at the trees. 

And after that, things shifted. It may have been me and my reset in thinking. It very well may have been the baby (finally!) napping on daddy's chest. Suddenly I was surrounded by good things. A home-cooked meal on the table. A healthy family. A warm home. Yes, there are plenty of good things in everyday. 

And while my original post intention was those trees, by the end of the day it most definitely was the after dinner clean-up dance party. 

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.

one good thing 2/28

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.

These two, actually getting along. Even if it means I'll be finding the socks they are supposed to be matching under and behind furniture for weeks. 

all the good things

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday, most days, some days, every great once in a while .

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below. 

Somehow, February got away from me. I'm still not quite sure where it went. There was seed ordering, a 10 year anniversary and a 3000 mile round trip to Georgia. And now here I suddenly am at the very end of February wondering how it managed to go by so quickly!

The same can be said of this strange, mild winter we've had. I don't know if we've seen more than 6 inches at a time and it certainly hasn't been more than once or twice if we have. I spent much of the last week offline completely, and realized how very wonderful that feels. 

There have been many, many good things sprinkling the past month here. Most notably (or at least the most everyday in our faces noticeably!) is that we now have an 8 month (8 months!?) old baby who has grown in leaps in bounds. A baby who is standing, who is walking along furniture and climbing stairs (oh my).

A baby who is quicker than we imagined and had a small encounter with a wood stove that required a trip to the ER (though luckily, not a very serious one!). A baby who now has one full tooth and several more in the coming. Who has decided that he very much likes food, but only if he can feed himself thank-you-very-much. A baby who babbles and smiles and as of last week has even started a magical little trick of napping - alone! I must admit that I might like that part the best. 

The Husband and I celebrated 10 years together mid month. Funny how that both feels like a very long time and no time at all. 

We spent some time in Georgia visiting my husbands brother and his family, they recently moved back from Germany. The car ride went surprisingly well considering we had a 13 yr old, 8 yr old and 8 month old. We had a lovely, lovely time - though I can't say I'd be anxious to spend that much time in the car again anytime soon! 

Evan shot his first gun at a military shooting range. I'm not very much a fan of guns, at all. He is apparently an excellent shot, hitting the bulls-eye quite easily. I'm supposing that if he is interested in guns, and shooting, it makes more sense to have him be trained by responsible people in appropriate atmospheres. He's not interested in hunting, but I can't say I'm not hoping that maybe someday he'll provide his mama with some venison. 

I'm beginning to feel Spring creeping in. Getting ready to start seeds, planning another garden bed, dreaming about fresh fruits and vegetables. Though our winter has been incredibly mild, the markets are always bare this time of year. I'm looking forward to the first signs of the harvest. Asparagus. Rhubarb.
Soon, soon. 

one good thing 2/1

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below. 
 
Clearly, I haven't been posting everyday - as sniffles and coughs made their way around the house these last couple of weeks I count it a success just to make it through each day without collapsing. 

We're still a bit foggy headed and congested, but things are clearing up a little bit. 

Now. Let me tell you about my very good thing. I'm not even waiting until the day is done. 

You may remember I have a baby who does not sleep. He rarely naps - and if he does at all it's for about 45 minutes in someones arms. Then he's up, on average, 10 times a night to nurse. He's 7 months old and so this makes for a very sleepy mama. 

Luckily, I have a kind of awesome husband who gets up with the older kids and gets them on the bus before heading out to work himself. Little guy sleeps his longest stretch from about 5-7am each morning. 

Naps have become increasingly frustrating for me. Most days I suck it up, hold him in my arms and smile while I watch him sleep. But some days, I am desperate for an hour of mama time - no baby attached. 

As I write this, baby boy has been sleeping mostly soundly BY HIMSELF for a whopping 50 minutes. Oh.my.goodness. 

I started to clean. I did a quick tidy. Then I grabbed a handful of trailmix, plopped down and got online. It feels a little dirty. Sort of like sitting home and eating bon-bons. 

It's not like I don't spend time catching up on blogs, pinning and googling around while I'm nursing. I do. But it's a whole new level of luxury to do all this baby free! Guilty pleasure, for sure!

I don't suppose if napping becomes a habit, that vegging out online will become a habit for me. I'm anxious to dig into some projects. But man, this little sliver of time has felt absolutely refreshing.

And as I type that I hear someone stirring. And for the first time in quite a long time, I'm not feeling too bummed out by that!

A very good thing, indeed. 

my nap-time companion

 

one good thing 1/19

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.

A houseful. babies. noisy children. a friend. a sister. food cooking. a house full of energy and life.

and at the end of the day, just a few moments in quiet, while we transition into sleep and dreams.

one good thing 1/18

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below. 


I am feeling very full of gratitude and very much humbled by the generosity and kindness of strangers and community today. It is a very good thing.

one good thing 1/16

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below. 

It took me a long time, a very long time, to learn how to make bread. I love making it now and this winter I've been especially interested in trying new kinds. I find it very easy to do with a somewhat high needs baby, since most of the 'prep' work is leaving it alone! 

one good thing 1/14

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below. 

my 13 year old, and 7 month old - 11:16pm

Sometimes, the very best thing about a day, is the end of it.

one good thing 1/13

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.

The snow finally came. We sat happily through November, while the ground stayed clear. A little disappointed through December as Christmas came and went with barely a flake. Then a week into January, with 50 degree days. Two weeks, the temperatures still delightful. Finally it came, blustering in on Friday the 13th.

The kids had their first snow day of the year. The first snow always makes this mama happy too. Feeling quite cozy inside I started planning what delicious things we could bake, what board games we could play, what movies we could cuddle up on the couch and watch. 

Andrew had other plans. Plans that included a whole lot of whining and screeching. Insistence on being held all day long. Total resistance to any sort of sleep at all. Clearly tired, he kept on fighting it and fighting it.

This baby will never be described as a good sleeper. It's just not who he is. At almost 7 months, I can count on one had the number of times he has napped by himself (and not being held, in the car, stroller or wrap). This makes for a very exhausted mama and one who is finding herself very much in need of some baby free time.

But, what this mama needs and what this mama can do are sometimes very different things. My list of things I wanted to get done on the perfect snow day - well, didn't get done. Instead, mid day a very tired baby and a very cranky mama laid down to nap. The only way this baby was going to sleep was with someone. So for two and a half hours baby slept soundly and after a brief nap of my own (and still half pinned by sleeping baby) I thought about how much this little one can (and does!) teach me. Sometimes my idea of a lazy day (baking, board games, cleaning, reading, laundry) isn't lazy enough. Sometimes even though it's the last thing I want to do, maybe the first thing I need is to stop everything and just take a nap. 

One good thing 1/12

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.




:ahem: just realized that for several days, with a copy and paste, I've been posting Oterine good thing. Apparently a career in proofreading is not in my future, eh?

While washing dishes after dinner and thinking about the day; some good things and some not so good things, I realized that perhaps the best thing today was not something for me. My sister has had a little bit of turmoil in her life as of late, and she got some news today that helps just a little. There's still some things to be worked through, and this was only one piece of a much larger puzzle, but I think that I felt just as much relief as she did.

Things haven't been so easy for her lately, and I hope they are looking up. She deserves something good.

one good thing 1/7

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. Oterine good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.

A day sunny enough, and plenty warm enough, in January to hang laundry on the line.

one good thing 1/6

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. Oterine good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.

a little boy who is so perfectly little boy.

one good thing 1/5

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. Oterine good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.



It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. From the minute I rolled out of bed on the wrong side until the minute I fell asleep. It was just one of those days.

While falling asleep, I racked my brain to think of one good thing. Anything? There is something good in everyday, yeah? 

Yeah.

Burger and fry night. Oh yes. It's become a twice monthly tradition. A plate full of bacon barbecue burgers and homemade fries. And the very best part is that my husband cooks it all.

I'd say that's a very good thing. 

image from 8/12/11 

one good thing 1/2

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.

If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.

photo from 12/26

For Christmas my husband and his father made this wooden mancala game for Colin. It's a game he has learned at school, and I had never heard of it.

It was a big hit over the holiday, but I hadn't had a chance to play until yesterday. I loved it! It's an addicting and fun game that is just as fun for the adults as it is for the kids. I love the new addition to our growing collection of homemade, wooden games as well.

one good thing

in a new year effort to be more mindful of how I am living my life and to be more joyful with my life, I've decided to post one good thing a day. One good thing, everyday.


I wavered between starting a new blog, like with 365, or just meshing it with this blog and I finally decided to post here. Being that I am not typically a daily blogger, I think it will work fine, just doubling up on posts some days.


If you feel inspired to do the same (and I hope that you do!) please feel free to leave your good thing, or a link, in the comments below.


1/1/12

This soup.

I was craving something warming, hearty and nourishing and this soup was perfect.

It also happens to be the perfect New Years day soup, containing black eyed peas and collared greens for luck and financial good fortune.

You can find the recipe over at Kalyn's Kitchen


For the picky boys, I also made Nana's French Onion Soup (inspired by this recipe)