Good Things

Meh. That is how I would sum up how I have been feeling lately. A string of illnesses, including a diagnosis of a double ear infection at Will's 1-year appointment last week, has led to poor sleep which leads to a general feeling of malaise. It's not uncommon for me to be up 4 times during the night tending to one or both children. Sometimes they are democratic and split the wake-ups, but usually they are all for Will. 

It's really hard to be cheerful, upbeat, and positive when you are tired!! But this post by Elisabeth that included a list of 'good things' reminded me that, if I stop and think about it, there are good things happening in the midst of all the fevers, crying and motrin/tylenol/antibiotic dosing. Here are some good things that came to mind when I pushed myself to focus on the positive:

- I got together with 4 of my college friends on Saturday night for a favorite things gift exchange. I got each of them a 500 piece wintery Galison-brand puzzle. That is my favorite brand of puzzles because the scenes are very whimsical and there aren't huge monochromatic chunks (I dislike puzzles like that!). They were all thrilled to get one with the holiday season upon us. I got a blanket, a satin pillow case, and some beauty products that I will actually use (a lip mask and a set of lipstick/gloss from Sephora). We don't all get together very often since everyone's lives are so busy (their kids are so busy with activities and such since they are ages 8-15). But I'm always glad when we make the effort to get together. We enjoyed wine and prosecco and snacks. I brought macarons from a new-to-me bakery which were very good. It was a lovely night!

- We got 11 inches of snow on Friday! That is the biggest snow storm we've had in quite some time - at least since we moved into our house in November 2019. I helped shovel the sidewalks on Saturday morning. Since our house is on a hill, there are a lot of steps and lots of areas we can't easily get to with the snow blower but I enjoy the process of shoveling. There's something so satisfying about seeing the fruits of your labor! And it's a great natural workout. I happily listened to a podcast while getting my sweat on. If this snow had come in March, which is entirely possible in Minnesota, I would be singing a different tune about all of this snow!

The pile of snow that I had to make a path through so we could get to the garage.

The steps before I shoveled them!

- Since we had all that snow, we took the boys sledding on Saturday. I was reminded how much work it is to get kids into snow gear. I know this will be much easier in about 4 years when they can maybe both get their snow gear on themselves? Hopefully? Will was not sure what to think of sledding and I didn't keep him out for long since he has an ear infection. I don't have any pictures of Paul sledding but he had a pretty good time with Phil. He's extremely cautious so it took some time to get him to go down the steeper hill by our house but once he got comfortable with sledding, he had a blast. I'm sure Will is going to learn to like sledding, too. 

What are you dressing me in, lady?

He sort of seemed to enjoy it?

But ultimately seemed a bit confused by what all this white stuff was. 

- Christmas jammies! It's a simple thing, but seeing the kids in Christmas jammies just makes me so happy. The boys have a good selection between ones I purchased new at Target and second-hand ones from Ones Upon a Child. Both of the jammies in the photos below are second-hand ones. 

Santa Baby!

Opening a gift from his advent calendar while wearing Christmas jammies.

- Phil and I watched the 80s movie, "Die Hard," together. It took 3 nights for us to get through it since I like to go up to bed by 8:30-8:45 for my pre-bedtime wind-down ritual. But it was fun to watch this old classic together that I guess can technically be called a Christmas movie since it takes place on Christmas Eve? It's not my typical style of movie but I enjoy the occasional action movie. We rarely watch movies together so when we do, it feels special/light a treat.

- After a bad night of sleep on Saturday night, I asked Phil if I could have a break during nap/quiet time so I could take a nap in the basement guest bedroom. I got a 1.5 hour break and it was delightful! Paul would not stay in his room for quiet time so I was extra glad I was in the basement and didn't have to entertain him.

So there you have it. When pressed, I could come up with some good things that kind of sort of offset this rough stretch of sleep or illness! 

Tell me some good things happening in your life right now!