Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday y'all!  I hope this week has been good to each and every one of you.  Last week was a bit draining and I ended up not getting a post up last Thursday.  This week has still been draining, but overall better than last week.  So I'm happy to be back sharing all of the things I found in my life to be grateful for this week.

For example, I'm so thankful that we had a three day weekend.  Halloween was on Monday and schools in our area were out.  Although, I forgot to turn off my alarms, JJ and I got to sleep in.  Moo is an early riser for the most part and still woke up bright and early.  However, she did a great job of entertaining herself with breakfast, her dolls and some YouTube for Kids so that I could some extra rest.

Speaking of Halloween, I'm grateful that our Halloween raining streak came to end this year.  The kids were good sports about not having costumes because I really thought it was going to rain and we'd end up stuck in the house like the last three years.  We were able to get out and go trunk-or-treating at one our favorite churches.  My little guy did well the entire night, especially when the crowd got bigger.  He stayed calm and when he had had reached his limit, he politely asked to go home and was patient as we worked our way back to our car.

It's such a blessing to see all of the progress he's made and continues to make everyday.  I still weep sometimes when I remember the days when he couldn't even day "Mommy" or he'd freak out in crowds or totally lose it when he heard music or other loud sounds.  I remember when his pediatrician wasn't sure he'd walk without therapy and maybe even leg braces because the muscle mass on one side of body was so much less than the other.  If ever I need a reminder that God is real, I don't to look any further than my son.

While we're on the subject of JJ, he's totally rocking out in homeschool and for that I am grateful as well.  I've taught other people's children, but for some reason it's so much scary teaching my own.  The first month of homeschooling, I definitely worried whether or not I was doing a good job, but now I know that I am.  I've reminded myself that part of the reason we're homeschooling is so that we can move at a pace that is best for him and so that he can be in an environment that gives him the freedom to learn in the ways he is most comfortable.

Moo is such a busybody and is always twirling, trying to do flips and practice gymnastics on the furniture.  She took a bit of fall a few days ago and caught her arm in rather uncomfortable position on one of our couches.  I'm so grateful that she didn't break her arm because as I watched the fall happen I thought she had.  It's hard watching your children get hurt because you're too far away to get to them to catch them.  We'll be heading to the doctors probably tomorrow because she said that it started back hurting today, but I'm giving thanks in advance that we won't leave with any bad news.

Lastly, I'm thankful that I'm making progress on my goal/resolution to improve my photography skills.  I've been really reading, researching and even taking a photography class - Become a Better Photographer on Udemy (sponsored link) -  and I feel like all my hard work is paying off.  I was very pleased with the photos from my POPSUGAR post.  I still have more room for improvement, but this is a start.

What are you giving thanks for this week?

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday y'all!  Please forgive the absence/lack of Thankful Thursday posts around these parts.  Somehow Thursdays have become my busiest days.  Also, homeschooling JJ has completely taken over my life and free time, but I'm NOT complaining.   I had a few unfinished Thankful Thursday posts from last month just chilling in my Drafts folder.  Today I woke up determined to get this week's post published and not dumped in Drafts with the others.  So let's jump right on in.

My baby sister recently celebrated her birthday y'all.  I'm so grateful that she was blessed to see another year of life.  Although, life has always been unpredictable and something meant to be cherished, I feel like in today's society it's even more imperative that we truly cherish what a gift it is to get older and celebrate our birthdays.  There so many folks who haven't and won't make it to their next birthday this year.  Just last week a school near our county was shot up by another kid.  A few people were injured, but one little boy died from his injuries.

This tragedy was a very sobering moment, especially since it was so close and happened in my home state.  Then a fellow creative in one of my creative groups on Facebook loss her 8-week old baby yesterday.  She said that she had the perfect pregnancy and delivery.  Her daughter was doing fine and had just had a checkup, but then she stopped breathing on Monday and things just went downhill from there.  We can be here one moment and gone in the blink of an eye.  Celebrate life EVERYDAY!!

Moving on to happier news, I'm thankful that JJ is crushing this homeschooling thing.  The first few weeks I told I was going to go out of my mind because I was putting so much pressure on myself.  Then, I remembered that God put it on my heart for me to homeschool my little guy.   He never gives us more than we're capable of handling.  While everyday isn't smooth sailing, JJ is definitely learning  and his passion for learning is really blossoming.

However, JJ isn't the only one excelling in school.  Moo is doing great in second grade at her old school.  They got tested for their reading levels the second week of school.  Guess what?  Moo tested over her reading level and has already met her end-of-the-year reading goal!  I'm so proud of her, but also a little worried because I hope that I'll be able to keep her entertained once she joins us in homeschool next year.

Lastly, I'm grateful that we got to have a mini-vacation recently.  One of my older cousins got married at the beach and we decided to make it a weekend trip.  The kids and I packed up, met up with my mom and then drove to stay with my brother for the wedding.  When I say that the reception was lit, I mean it was LIT!  Whenever our family gets together, especially us cousins and siblings, we party and turn up.  I even got a chance to go out sans the kids with my brother and sister for a sibling turn up session.

Before I let you guys go, I just want to say thank you to everyone who continues to support this blog.  I greatly appreciate you.  Also, to all my fellow East Coast readers, be safe as we wait for Hurricane Matthew to pass.  Pray for us y'all.  Here in the Queen City, we're already getting lots of rain and winds are expected to pick up over the next day or so.

And if you haven't already, go enter my latest giveaway!

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday everyone!  Can you believe it's August already?!  Dear Summer Break, where did you go?  Please come back because I'm not ready for the school year to start yet.  I mean I'm positively prepared for the first day and all, but I just want a little bit more time of sleeping in and being able to jet off to my mom's on a whim.   Seriously though can we push school back to like the middle of September?

Enough lamenting over the end of Summer Break, this week I'm thankful for that Moo had a great visit at the dentist.  It had been a while since she had been thanks to our busy schedules.  Therefore, she was a little nervous.  We had been praying about her upcoming visit for a few days and she did very well.  She did have a cavity or two, but nothing to stress over.  The dentist said her teeth were very clean and was a little stumped about why she was getting cavities.

Sensitive teeth run in my family on both sides, plus due to food allergies she doesn't get quite as much calcium and Vitamin D.  I'm going to see what else I can do on my end to fix that.  Otherwise her mouth got a clean bill of health.  She was super excited that she got a token for the prize/game room and a new toothbrush kit.  She hasn't let that toothbrush kit out of her sight yet.  Can't mad that the girl is obsessed with taking care of her teeth!

I'm also thankful that we'll be having a mini family reunion next month!  One of my favorite cousins is getting married and I couldn't be happier for him.  We've been waiting on him to settle down for a while and he's finally found his true love.  I'm looking forward to dancing, celebrating their love and partying the night away with my other cousins, aunts, uncles and our soon-to-be new extended family members!  The best part is we'll be at the beach!!

Can you say mini vacation?!  The kids are already over the moon about because we'll be staying with my brother and they just adore him.  We seriously don't get to see him enough during the year because of the distance and he's a law student now!  I'm stoked that we'll have a lawyer in the family soon.

Lastly, I'm excited that the Mr got a new job!!  I've been really hush hush about him leaving his old job here on the blog because I wanted to respect his privacy and I really couldn't say too much.  I'm not ashamed to admit that things have been a bit tight money-wise but as the scripture says God never forsakes us.  He is our shepherd and we shall not want for anything. {Psalm 23}   All I can say about his new job is that is that it's still in the law enforcement field.

What are you giving thanks for this week?

Thankful Thursday

 

Oh July, where have your days gone?  It's hard to believe that we have slightly over a week left in this month.  Summer Break came to a close quicker than I expected.  I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm NOT looking forward to school starting back up.  If anything all the recent tragedies have made me cherish this uninterrupted time with my family even more.  So much so that I think we're going to give homeschooling a try, but that's another post for another time.

This week I am giving thanks for time spend with my loved ones.  For the last almost three weeks we've been enjoying the comforts of staying with my mom back in my hometown.  We came down for my niece's 11th birthday and ended up pretty much staying, going home for clothes and to visit with the Mr twice.  I feel a little sad that his job isn't as flexible and he hasn't been able to come with us.

Nevertheless, this stay is important.  Now that I'm in my thirties, I'm realizing just how older my mom is and how much older her siblings are.  For the first time in a long time, I'm reminded that life is fleeting and can be taken in an instant.  Before this trip it had been well over two years since Moo and JJ had seen my aunts or any of their cousins outside of my niece!  I didn't want to the next time they spend time with them to be at a funeral.  I want them to get to know and love my aunts like I do.

I'm thankful that I got to run to in one of my cousins and his family at the library.  He's in the military and we haven't seen each other in over five years.  Unfortunately, he hasn't ever been stationed anywhere close to home.  I'm so grateful that he's in good health and has been blessed enough to return home safe and without any injuries from every mission that he's been on.  I'm even more grateful for his sacrifice that he makes everyday in serving our country.

Before our trip to my mom's Moo almost had a hospital stay.  Long story short she was having a severe allergic reaction to something and we couldn't get her hives under control.  She had been taking Benadryl for two days and by day three the hives had gotten worst.  Her whole body was almost covered.  So we called the pediatrician and she said to take her to the emergency room ASAP.  I'm so grateful that when all was said and done, she only needed a few days worth of steroids.

Thank God it wasn't something worse.  However, I did have a brief meltdown after everyone went to bed that night.  I felt (and still feel) guilty that I have passed my kids bad genes.  While I didn't have food or pet allergies as child, I was definitely sick often and saw the inside of my pediatrician's office and the hospital ER more than my siblings.  I know that I can only do so much in terms of controlling my kids' health, but that doesn't the stop the mommy guilt during moments like this.  I hate seeing my children suffer, but what mom doesn't?

Lastly, I'm so thankful for everyone who has used their voices whether on social media or their blogs to come together to support the Black community (and other minorities) after all of these recent senseless shootings.  Police violence against people with brown skin has gotten out of control.  Or as a few people pointed out, maybe it's always been out of control but we're just now broadcasting it through live video and this is the first time we're actually seeing it.   At the same time I am thankful for those in law enforcement (my husband and cousins included) who are working hard to make sure that we know a few bad cops/law enforcement officials don't speak/stand for all of them.

We are in trying time folks.  There's no better way to say it.  We have to continue to be vocal about our frustrations, demand answers and try to build a bridge law enforcement in our area.  We have to get out here in the trenches and get our hands dirty.  That means if you see someone getting pulled over and you're not in hurry, why not pull off to side of the road and be a witness.  Get to know your police chief and a few of your local police officers.  You will find that they are NO different than us.  I'm heartbroken over the recent killings of innocent police officers.

That does not help the cause, but distracts from it as so many people have attached those killings to the Black Lives Matter movement, which in itself is very peaceful and against violence.  Instead express and channel your frustration by writing letters to and calling your town and state representatives as well as  being active in your community overall.  You'd be amazed at all the volunteer needs you can find in your communities.  Be smart, be safe and spread love y'all!

What are you giving thanks for this week?

Thankful Thursday

 

It's Thankful Thursday!  For some reason I feel like this week went by extra fast.  It feels weird considering it's been rainy this week and usually when it's rainy time seems to drag on, but this not this week.  Thankful Thursday got here again sooner than I was expecting it to.  Nevertheless, I am grateful that it's here.

This week I am giving thanks for the lost things that become found.  A few years ago I decided to switch back to Team Android after not being so impressed by Team iPhone.  Well, I had no clue that when you switched phone brands only your number and carrier account information switched with you.  I'd switched to Team iPhone during my pregnancy with JJ and it wasn't until he was almost two years old that I switched to a Samsung Galaxy.  My iPhone with filled with over one thousand photos and videos of my kids.

I'm taking JJ's first Christmas and Moo's first Southern snow day.  Well, I thought I had lost all of those photos until I was filming a video for my YouTube channel and needed a bigger memory card.  I put the memory card into my computer just to check to make sure I didn't have anything on it and low and behold it did.  I got comfortable, preparing to just delete whatever was on the card, but then I clicked on one of the folders and there were all the photos and videos I thought that I had lost.

I have no clue how they got on there since iPhones don't have memory card slots.  It's a miracle for sure.  Maybe, I was able to get the photos through my iCloud or something and forgot that I put them on a memory card, but I'm glad that stumbled across this memory card.  One of the videos that I had mourned the loss of was of JJ taking his first steps at the library.

I cried watching rewatching those clips today.  Unfortunately, I did lose the video of Moo's first steps.  I transferred from my phone to my computer and the file got corrupted, but to think that history was almost repeating itself a second time, I was heartbroken.  Words can't explain how thankful I am to have these documented memories restored to me.  Moments like:

This was JJ's first day home from the hospital.  I (we) was so tired because my milk came in late while we were in the hospital which meant that he was nursing around the clock trying to get every last bit of colostrum he could.  To make matters worst his weight dropped and they were threatening to keep us both another day.  The Mr caved and gave him one bottle of formula which made me turn into a crazed mama bear.  My heart was set on having a second successful breastfeeding experience and a part of me just knew he was going to end up having a dairy allergy.

This was Moo's first ride on the light rail.  Can you tell that she's excited.  It was also one of those rare days that Daddy was able to tag along with us because he didn't have to go to work.  She was over the moon to have him sit with her and listen to her chatter about all the sights outside her window.  My heart was so full this day.

While Moo has always been her brother's biggest fan, the same couldn't be said about him.  It was hard getting these two in a picture together because JJ did not like sharing his spotlight.  That sucks when you're like me and just want to capture the simple everyday moments.  But this is one of my fave photos of my two heartbeats.  I was taking a break from folding laundry to hang out on the bed and watch TV.

I absolutely love this picture of Moo!  Her smile is just so adorable.  Seriously, could you resist this sweet face?!  Looking at how small she was here only makes me want to try harder to appreciate these years before she goes off to college.  Times flies.

I feel like JJ's first flew by.  He was just beginning to start teething (hence the drool) when I took this picture and he's been growing full speed ever since.   He was such a low maintenance baby and is that way for the most part.  Such sweet memories!  I can't wait to print these pictures out and put them in photo albums.  I didn't capture these moments to have them waste away on a memory card.

Lastly, this week I'm thanks for my siblings!  Hands down they are best and I wouldn't trade them for the world.  They always know the right words to say and are constantly doing what they can to be supportive of YUMMommy.  I love you guys!

What's on your gratitude list this week?  Let me know in the comments below.

Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thankful Thursday!  This week in the YUMMommy household was rather uneventful, but I'm grateful.  The heat has been unrelenting and we've been staying indoors to keep cool.  Well, except for Monday when we went to the pool.  Speaking of which this week I'm thankful that Moo has overcome her fear of going out into the pool.  For years the farthest we could get her to go in a pool where the steps.

That was totally fine for me because that meant I only had to help one kid battle around the pool- JJ.  It's so weird seeing how they have swapped roles with each other.  When Moo was a baby she loved water.  Bathtime was her favorite time of the day, while JJ was NOT a fan of water at all until he hit age four.  Now, he's a water lover and she's not.  But she surprised me Monday and asked me to take her paddling around the deep end of the pool.

She did great a job.  I'm looking into our budget to see if we can move some funds around to pay for family swimming lessons.  The Mr already knows how to swim, but doesn't because he's not a fan of public or community pools.  So maybe he'll tag along for a refresher if we do take some.   Swimming lessons would really help to boost Moo's courage about being in the water and would give me a peace of mind about JJ's enthusiasm for water.

I'm thankful for all of the Booktubers and blog bloggers that have been raving about Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Throne and Roses.  I read a few pages in the library and can't wait to fully engross myself into it this weekend.  But from what I did read, I know that I'm going to love this Beauty and the Beast fantasy-style retelling.  I feel like it's been so long since I've read a good YA (young adult) series.  I probably stopped reading YA after the last Twilight book, speaking of which I heard there's a new addition to the series that was recently released.

Earlier this week I had a bit of writer's block and didn't get much added to my novels.  Today my characters have been busy chattering away in my head.  Scenes have been coming and going.  I can't wait to write them all and move these stories forward.  I'm thankful that I've learned to respect MY writing process more and have come to terms with the fact that I'm just not a fast writer.  And I don't want to be.  At least not with my first debut projects.

Lastly, I'm thankful that Moo continues to make new friends everywhere she goes- the library, the park, etc.  Her light definitely shines bright and serves as beacon to draw others to her.  I hope that light never goes out and that she will find a greater purpose to use her light and voice for.

What are you giving thanks for this week?

Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thankful Thursday!  It's that time again.  Let's open those gratitude journals and reflect on all of the positive and wonderful things that happened this past week.  And if you don't keep a gratitude journal, I definitely recommend that you start one because it's so uplifting and humbling to be able to look back and recognize all of the things you have to be thankful for.  Things that you may have even taken for granted just last week.

Life is one of those things that I took for granted, but am truly thankful for.  This past week has not been without its tragedies.  There was the shooting in at Pulse in Orlando, parents having to mourn the death of their toddler after he was attacked and killed by an alligator while on vacation, and a teenager was murdered (three others were injured)  in a drive-by shooting while attending a vigil for her friends who had drowned. Listen y'all, I don't want to be walking here talking about these are the last days, but with so much death in the air back-to-back, it has made me appreciate each day that I've woken up with my family much more.

While I know that tomorrow is not promised to any of us, I'd be remissed if I didn't admit that there is still a lot of living I want to do.  I want to see my children graduate, get married and have my grandkids.  I want to travel overseas.  I want to make more of a difference in the world around me.  It seems selfish to ask God for more time to allow me to do these things when so many other people's lives have been cut short.

Still I'm praying that He will and that in the meanwhile, He continue to teach me how to live each day like it's last.  I'm praying that He will help me to become more purposefully in how I spend my days.  I want to focus more on making memories with my family, more on giving back to others and more on strengthening my spiritual self.

This week I'm also thankful that we've had an awesome first week of Summer Break!  It feels amazing to sleep-in and not have to turn off four alarms, rush through breakfast and then rush out the door.  And while our Summer Break just started, I can't help realize how NOT far off August is.  There are so many experiences I want to cram into these peaceful and carefree days.  A part of me leaning towards attempting to homeschool because I don't want to cram anything.  I want the flexibility of being able to take my time without any outside restraints.  Thus, this is my love-hate relationship with school.

Last night the kids were running around the living room laughing and being a bit rambunctious as kids often are.  My little guy fell onto one of the coffee tables and the corner caught him by his front teeth.  Talk about a heart-stopping moment.  At first, I thought it had gotten his eye and I was preparing to see the worst when he turned around.  But he had hit his front top teeth.

I am so thankful that he was okay.  His teeth weren't knocked loose, but he did have some wood in from his teeth had chipped away a little dent in the table due the impact force.  The angels were looking out because I seriously don't know how he didn't even chip a tooth.  Just the sound that came after his fall made me cringe.  Needless to say I've reinstated a no running policy.

I'm thankful that Moo's love for reading continues to grow by the day.  We have checked out 72 books from our local libraries this week with more books on hold!  She's even requested to start a Mommy & Me Booktube channel on YouTube.  I know that whether or not she goes back to traditional school or we decide to homeschool, her reading skills are going to be through the roof.  I love that I'm raising well-read children and am exposing them to a variety of different genres, authors, characters and adventures.

Lastly, I'm thankful that we didn't have to throw out any of our food yesterday.  There were major power outages throughout the Queen City yesterday.  I'm talking about traffic lights not working, groceries shut down because of no power and our place wasn't without power for three hours.  We kept the frig and freezer closed the entire time and thankful once the power came back on we checked and the ice in the freezer hadn't even melted.  Everything was still nice and cold.

What made your gratitude list this week?  Leave me a comment below.

Thankful Thursday

Do you know what today is?  I will give you a hint.  It's not my anniversary.  It's the last day of school!!  I wish there was a confetti button.  I am so excited that Summer Break is officially here.  In fact, it's the first thing that I'd like to give thanks for in today's Thankful Thursday post.

As I mentioned in my June Recently post, I am thankful that we can now sleep in and I can turn off all four of my morning alarms.  I'm thankful that when we do activities during that day on Monday through Friday, Moo won't be or feel left out because she won't be stuck in the classroom.  I'm grateful that our schedule is flexible again.  If I want to stay an extra at Target in the afternoon I can without worrying about not being able to get Moo from school on time.  I almost feel like doing cartwheels right now.

 

However, as excited as we all are about tomorrow being the first official day of Summer Break, we are a little sad.  This afternoon I went to enjoy lunch with Moo in her classroom for the last day of school.  We watched movies with her classmates, she told me how she ended the school year with the highest reading level in the class and she exchanged numbers with her best friend.  Her teacher has been raving about her all school year and I knew it was no secret that Moo was the class pet.

Still when we went to leave early, I wasn't expecting her teacher to burst into tears over the sadness of losing her star pupil.  And I wasn't prepared to start tearing up right along with her.  This school year I am most thankful that Moo had a teacher who not only enjoyed being a teacher, but she genuinely loved and cared about her students.   While she accredited so much of Moo's success and smarts to me being an involved parent at home, I accredit a good deal of Moo's successful first grade year to her having a teacher who loved and nurtured her.  It was through and with her teacher's love that my kid really thrived and flourished.

While there were things I didn't like about Moo's new school this year, her teacher isn't one of them.  She will forever be a part of our village and I plan on emailing her frequently to keep her updated on Moo's progress.  A part of me is hoping that she'll end up being JJ's teacher one day.  Here's to all the teachers out there who take our children under their wings and fight for them just as hard as we, their parents, do!

I'm thankful that our library was able to workout the issue with their book supplier and approved all of my suggested book purchases.  We read a lot in the YUMMommy household.  Therefore, going to the library is one of our favorite pastimes.  Recently, I noticed that our library was a little low on books featuring main characters of color- African American, Hispanic, etc- and suggested some books like Tia and Tamera Mowry's Twintution series and Jacqueline Jules' Sofia Martinez series.  I was super excited when I received a message from our librarian that supplier issue was solved and our book requests were ordered.

There are diverse books out there.  We just have to start seeking them out and supporting the writers who are writing them.  I've made it my business to increase the number of books by minority authors- not just Blacks- that I purchase for my Kindle each year.  In doing so I've gone beyond reading just my favorite authors and have discovered some new faves.  I'm grateful this and for the opportunity to support fellow writers and give them encouragement to keep on writing because I'm reading and supporting their works.

Lastly, I'm grateful that our weather seems to have gotten its act together.  So far this week has been lovely with nice hot temps and only a few light showers.  I hope that our summer will be a balance of getting just the amount of rain we need without us going into the drought level and having water restrictions.

What are you most thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

 

Can I just start off this Thankful Thursday post by saying that I've missed you guys?!  God knows I have missed you all and blogging.  I'm sure many of you noticed that I took a month long hiatus from YUMMommy, both the blog and my social media channels.  It wasn't planned or anything, but just something that kind of happened.  One day I just woke up and decided not to blog.  Then before long one day turned into three and three turned into a week, etc.

It wasn't that I didn't want to blog because I love sharing with y'all.  This blog has given me a sense of community and is like my safe haven.  I've made some incredible connections thanks to starting YUMMommy.  I don't want to drag this out, but I was just in a place of feeling overwhelmed.  There were so many balls up in the air and I felt like I didn't have enough hands to manage everything.

So I took a breather.  It pays to hit the pause button from time to time to prevent ourselves from crashing and burning.  I have lots to share like our balcony gardening journey, where we are with the new house, and what's been going on with the kids.  I'm thankful to be back in the blogging saddle.

Summer Break is matter of days away and I couldn't be more grateful.  Somewhere around Spring Break the struggle of getting up in the mornings and out the house on time got realer!  Moo is the only morning person here and is awake by 8 AM everyday without fail.  I'm grateful for this there have been more than a few days when I've slept through my THREE alarms.   Come on last day of school!

This week I'm also giving thanks to the Mr's new work schedule.  He's home a lot more and we're able to enjoy dinner as a family and do more family activities.  The kids love it because they don't just see him passing anymore.  He can come to park with us or attend school performances.  I'm so grateful that he can be apart of more and gets to experience more activities with us as we continue making memories.

I'm most thankful that we are no longer a single car family.  Yes, we finally got a second car!  It's been a huge blessing.  I'm so grateful that God put this in the cards for us because having one car with two kids and living in the city was not ideal for our family and everything that we have going on.  I won't ever take having multiple cars for granted ever again that's for sure.

What are you giving thanks for this week?

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday!  I'm so grateful to be back on the blogging wagon.  I took a brief blogging break to move YUMMommy from Blogger to self-hosted WordPress.  I'd said more than once that I wasn't interested in moving my blog, but then I got frustrated with not being able to add things and customize my site the way I wanted to without having to know how to code.  Don't get me wrong, I know a little HTML.

However it's so much easier being able to just add a plugin that does all the hard work instead.  I don't mind working hard, but sometimes working hard means working hard at working smarter.  I still have a few tweaks and changes to make, but for the most part I am happy that I made the switch.  Being the DIYer that I decided to move everything over myself and that was an experience.  I'm thankful for all for great customer service, the WordPress forum and Google because without these resources I would have had to move each post over manually.

Spring Break is over.  While some parents rejoice about being able to send their children back to school, I am that 1-5% of parents who dread having to give up sleeping in.  I am NOT a morning person.  JJ is NOT a morning person.  The struggle has been real to get up every morning after 10 straight days of sleeping in.  Also, we miss the freedom of being able to decide what we want to do for the day as a family and not rush about having to pick so and so up from school.  This is exactly why I'm thankful that Summer Break is right corner!

The kids have given me a list of some of the fun (and educational) places they would like to visit once school lets out.  I have to admit that I'm excited to see how many of these field trips we'll mark off our list.  As a mom, I'm proud of the fact that they purposefully picked out some of the places because they want to learn.  I don't know what I've done to instill a natural love of learning into my kids, but I'm kind of patting myself on the back.  They could have just as easily have requested to hang out by the pool and watch TV all summer (not that they have a chance of this happening).  The best part is that my mom, niece and sister will be tagging along on some of these field trips!

Faith is a refusal to panic.

~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

There have been some major changes going on behind the scenes in my personal life.  I'm thankful that through it all my faith has kept me strong and kept me from freaking out.  Life is full of curve balls, but you don't have to let those curve balls derail you.  We are all stronger than we think.  Regardless of our religions I truly believe that we can all take comfort in your faith when things don't go as planned or unexpected surprises arrive.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

It is almost the weekend again!  Not sure what we're going to do yet though.  There's a park literally at the end of our street and around the corner.  So, if the weather holds up we might venture to check it out.  Notice anything different?  Well for starters the Thankful Thursday logo is different.  And I also got rid of the Blogger navigation bar that's usually at the top of every page.

There are more changes to come as I learn how to redesign my blog.  That brings me to the first thing that I am thankful for this week-DIY blog tutorials.  It's a blessing to have other bloggers and graphic designers out there who don't mind sharing a few of their tricks.  Sure it would be easier to hire a blog designer to revamp, but then I wouldn't be learning anything.  And if anything went wrong with the design I'd have to be dependent the designer and spend more money to have the problem fixed.  I don't want to be dependent on anyone when it comes to YUMMommy.

I'm thankful that so far August hasn't been nearly as rainy as July was.  There have definitely been more opportunities for us to get out and explore.  I'm thankful that we live up the street from one of our favorite restaurants-Chicken King!!  If y'all ever come to the Queen City, check out one of their locations.  The food is so yummy.

We're still waiting for Moo's screening appointment for Pre-K, but in the meanwhile she's been voluntarily asking me to go over her ABCs, numbers and more with her!  It's one thing for me to initiate learning.  But now that she does it, my heart just swells even more with mommy joy!  I think every parent wants their child to love learning and have a proactive role in building their education.  I'm thankful for every extra step that have and will continue to take to shape my children into better people!

What are you thankful for this week?

Linking up with

Thankful Thursday

It's almost the weekend.  Nothing spectacular planned around these parts.  The kids and I might take a trip to the Ikea store to get the house for a few hours while the Mr sleeps.  I've been searching all the stores near us for an extra long curtain rod since the window in the living room has one big window.  However, it seems like nobody keeps those in stock. :(  So, I've been forced to hang the curtains up using some small pin nails.  Not the business or cute.

Anyways, the thing I'm most thankful for this week is that JJ is feeling better.  He had a 24-hour stomach bug a few days ago.  It was awful because he couldn't sleep and then when he did finally fall asleep at about 3 AM, his sleep got interrupted an hour later when he woke up vomiting.  And the poor guy could barely keep his eyes open he was so tired.  So, he was literally throwing up in his sleep most of the time.  But he's better and back to his usual self.

I'm thankful that I took some time to disconnect.  While I wasn't thrilled that it took forever to get the Internet and cable hooked up, I'm glad in a way that it happened.  I was able to put more focus on spending time with my little family and getting organized.  I even disconnected myself from my phone and set it to Do Not Disturb.  It felt freeing a way.  I think we all need to take time to shut out the outside world and just refocus or gather our wits for a while.

I'm thankful that I'll have more time to spend with Moo.  This year due to budget cuts they've had to cut back on the number of kids they take into the Pre-K programs.  They screen kids to see which kids really need Pre-K and which kids don't.  However, the thing is if your child is too smart and/or you don't meet the income requirements then that means that your child can skip to kindergarten.  I think that's nuts.  Why should Moo has to sit out an extra year because she's smart?

We're waiting for her screening appointment, which is next month.  And if she tests out of Pre-K, I will be petitioning the school board to let her skip to kindergarten.  Until then we're enjoying this extra couple weeks we have before she'll be away from us during the day.

I'm thankful for YouTube.  It's amazing all the helpful stuff you can find on there.  Need a make-up tutorial, looking for a cookie recipe or want a review on a specific product?  YouTube is sure to have you covered.  Remember, I told you all that I was concerned that JJ's vocabulary wasn't as advanced as I thought it should be?  Well, thanks to YouTube, we're starting the My Baby Can Read series.

The best part is that it's Free99.  The actual company who makes the videos has a YouTube channel and they've posted entire video series on there.  So, why would I order the series online when I can access it for free?  And our tvs allow us to stream from YouTube, which is great because my computer has gone to computer heaven. :(  

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

Y'all it's been a long week and we still have today, tomorrow and Saturday left.  It just seems like one thing after the other has been going on.  And I don't do well with road blocks.  Anyways, it's Thankful Thursday and despite all that's transpired, I still have much to be grateful for.

Not sure if I mentioned that we had the tires on our car vandalized.  It's just down right sad the stupid and inconsiderate stuff people do to others for no reason.  They didn't care if we had jobs to get, might have had an emergency run to hospital to make or whether or not we'd have the money to get new tires.  Thankfully, we were blessed to score new tires and get them put on for a steal!!  God is good because tires are expensive and money is a little snug around these parts right now.

I'm also thankful that the Mr is feeling 100% since his surgery.  He was out of work for a month and started back this week.  Of course, a part of me is a little anxious to see how his body will respond and how well he'll get back in the swing of things.  Can't lie, we're going to miss having him to ourselves.

I'm thankful that I've been making good progress on my first vlog!  It'll be up soon.  It's been something I've been wanting to do for a while, but a million and one excuses always kept popping up in my head and making me chicken out.  Well, I decided to just bite the bullet and go for it.  So, I can't wait until it's finished.

We've still been having rain here almost everyday, but thankfully it's been during the evening hours.  We were able to get out of the house yesterday and enjoy some sights.  I'm very thankful that I've been finding some great blogging/entrepreneurship resources and have been connecting with a lot of awesome bloggers online.  So often it can be hard to find other bloggers and business owners who will mentor you and just share their tips and tricks of the trade willingly and freely.  

Trust me, I've tried and I can't tell you how many people I reached out to either just didn't respond back or whatever.  I definitely see myself going further and being able to better myself and establish a brand that I can twice as proud of than I am currently.  So, don't give up.  Keep reaching out and keep researching.  You'll find the right door one day!

What's on your gratitude list this week?

Thankful Thursday

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

~Marcel Proust 

Do you all remember a few Thankful Thursdays back that I wrote a post talking about Miss J?  (Read it here.)  Well, this week I got some back news about Miss J.  I learned that her had been steadily declining and that she had slipped into a coma.  When I first got the news my heart sunk.

I wanted to break down and cry so bad, but I didn't because for starters I was in a public place and I had my kids with me.  I know that it's okay to show emotion in front of them, but I didn't want to explain the situation or talk about how I was feeling at that moment.  My heart felt broken and part of it still feels broken.

Thankfully though Miss J pulled through her coma and was released to go home yesterday morning.  While it's a great thing that she came through the coma with no damage to her memory and was well enough to go home, I know that the time is quickly drawing near for me to say my good-bye to her.  And that just makes me even more sad.  However, Miss J has been blessed to live on this Earth for over 90 years.  That's something that seems to rare in these days with bombings, kidnappings and all the other craziness going on.

And I'm blessed to have met her and have had the opportunity to bond with her.  She has definitely made my soul blossom and I will always cherish that.  The memory and essence of who she is will always be with me.  I'm just thankful that God granted her another day, another minute, another second of life for the time being to share with those of us who love her the most!

Thankful Thursday

"Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone."

~G. B. Stern 

 

I couldn't agree more with Mr Stern.  I'm still down in my hometown visiting with family.  While I've been here, I have definitely had lots of help with the kids and a nice break from cooking.  A mom could get use to this for real.   Anyways, I've been making sure to verbally express my gratitude.

I am beyond thankful for my baby sister who has been taking up so much time with Moo this week.  JJ is getting the rest of his teeth in and has been clued to me.  That's been leaving Moo feeling a little left out but my sister has done a fantastic job of helping with bedtime and entertaining her throughout the day.  Every parent dreams of that one person who loves their children the way that they love them and for me my baby sister is that person.

Her love is truly unconditional when it comes to Moo and JJ.  She always takes up so much time with each them.  She knows them equally as well as I do.  And honestly, I think that is why they love her so much.  This is such a blessing to have been given.

I'm thankful that things are going well with my aunt.  They had to postpone her surgery but she is still in good spirits.  She's not letting her condition make her a charity case.  She's still getting up doing her usual things and going about her life as she has been since I was child.  I admire for being so brave and so strong.

I thank God for this precious time that He continues to give us with her.  I know that she has many more years of living on this Earth to do.  I am confident that her surgery is going to well.  She's such a survivor and if you ever met her, you'd definitely know she was a fighter!

I'm thankful for the opportunity to do something nice for an elderly lady who has sort of become like a grandmother to me.  I haven't spent more than 4 hours at a time with woman but when we first met, we just clicked.  I thought if I had the chance to pick out who my grandmother was, she would be it.  She's bossy, very opinionated and she doesn't take any shit!

Everything about her resonates leadership, compassion and love.  And she's completely smitten with Moo.  Has been for four years now.  Well, her children recently made the choice to put her in the nursing home since they don't live close by and she's been getting sick.  So, I've decided to crochet her a lovely blanket so that she'll have something to remember me and the kids by.

I can't wait to see the look on her face when I take it to her.  If I was rich, I wouldn't think twice about hiring a nurse and springing her from that nursing home she's in.  She's turning 91 this year and it makes me sad knowing that her time left on this Earth is limited.  I don't have many grandparent figures that I look up to and I hate that my kids haven't spent nearly enough time to get to truly know her or remember her when they're older.  However, at least I have this tiny token of appreciation that I can give to her to let her know how loved she is by me.

What are you thankful for this week?