What's Saving My Life Right Now

 Earlier this week on Best of Both Worlds, the hosts shared what is saving their lives right now. I've been on the complaining side lately with all the early wake-ups, cold weather, and other challenges. And while I think it's important to "keep it real" around here, it's also kind of refreshing to think about the good things in my life right now! 

- Our gas fireplace. We converted our wood-burning fireplace to gas in early January and have used it a TON. It's probably been used almost daily since it was installed since we haven't had much warm weather. I've used it every night this week since it's been pretty wintery out there!

- Taking turns getting up with Will. Phil and I trade off morning duties. I did not do this with Paul even though I remember struggling with early wake-ups. I don't know why we didn't trade off, though! But once Will was weaned from breast feeding, we've been taking turns getting up with him. I'm pretty sure I suggested it, so it's a good reminder to ask for what you need instead of assuming your partner knows.

- Magnatiles and this chair, both of which were hand-me-downs from friends. The magnatiles have entertained Paul for HOURS. In this picture, he's building a house for the pound puppy Phil had as a child plus some Paw Patrol characters. He will happily play on his own with magnatiles. It's harder to find things that entertain Will, but he loves this chair. He likes climbing in and out of it and will try to do a somersault off of it with mixed success. 15-month olds are hard to entertain so anything that hold his attention for 5 minutes is a win!

- On that note, Paul's sudden but intense interest in coloring has been wonderful, too. It's another activity he'll happily do without much intervention from us. You can see from the picture below that he has to color EVERY SQUARE INCH of each page! Sometimes he'll ask one of us to color with him but it's an activity I don't mind! So I guess the theme of the last 2 life-saving things is things that captivate our children. 

- The library. I take home about 20 picture books/week and always have 2-3 eBooks checked out for myself. So far of the 27 books I read so far this year, 26 came from the library! I am glad that we have a wonderful library that is only about a mile away. I'm hoping to take Paul there soon. He hasn't been there since pre-covid since his mask adherence isn't great (he will wear it but then will often suck on the part by the mouth and probably touch it so overall, it's not very effective). But masks are no longer required so it feels like a good time to bring him. 

- Buying lunch one/day week now that I'm back to the office. I'm planning to write a post about the pros and cons of being back in the office, but one big pro is the treat of eating out once/week! I also treat myself to a weekly latte on a different day of the week. 

- Skyways walks on days I'm in the office. Since it's so dang cold here in Minneapolis, our downtown area has an awesome skyway system. You can get nearly anywhere without stepping foot outdoors! I try to take a 30ish minute walk at lunch time each day while listening to podcasts or an audiobook. It's very easy to hit 10k steps on days I'm in the office with a walk at lunch and the walk to/from the parking ramp. 

To give you an idea of how extensive the system is, here is a map of the skyway. The red lines are the skyways.

 - This may be controversial to say, but our son's iPad. We bought him a refurbished iPad for Christmas but he only gets to use it during quiet time on the weekends. It's loaded with an educational ap called ABC Mouse and the PBS Kids video and game aps. So I tell myself it's ok for him to have screen time since he only has access to educational things. Letting him have iPad time allows us to rest/get a break when Will takes his mid-day nap. I tried asking Paul to have quiet time in his room with toys but he wasn't great at staying in there. The iPad has solved this! When it's nicer outside, I'd like to do some big kid activities with him while Will naps, like going to a book store or the library or park, but for now, Phil and I need the opportunity to lay down and read/zone out/nap. 

- Hand-me-downs. We have been on the receiving end of so many hand-me-downs. I do not particularly care about whether my kids are fashionably dress. I favor function above all else - does it fit/is it comfortable/can they run around and play? That's all the really matters to me! Will seems to grow out of things so fast so it's nice to pull from the clothes Paul wore and not have to scramble to buy something when he changes sizes. Paul has moved into a new size, too, but I've been able to pull from boxes of stuff friends and my neighbor gave us. We are paying it forward by passing off hand-me-downs to others. In the photos below, Paul is almost 20 months and Will is almost 16 months. The outfit (which was purchased by my MIL in Europe!) was more seasonally appropriate for Paul as he wore it in October, but a shirt with a cat is always in style in this cat-loving house!

- Today is the last day of March which means we are one month closer to reliably good weather!! April may contain some snow but the average temps should be much better.

I could go on and on! Your turn - what's saving your life right now?