Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

This has been a chill but good week y'all.  The weather was nice, the town finally came and trimmed back some of the overgrown foliage throughout the neighborhood, and we started a Harry Potter family read-along.   The kids have seen all the movies and heard bits and pieces of the books.  So, I decided why not start from the beginning and read the series from start to finish?  They're loving it so far.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

Another week, another tragedy.  It's getting harder and harder to maintain a positive attitude/mindset.  There's no denying that this year started off beyond rocky thanks to last year's election results.  Somehow I hoped that by the end of the year, things would be at least looking up a little bit.  So much for wishful thinking.  And watching the news has left me feeling slightly depressed.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

Can we talk about what a collectively rough and crappy week this has been?  From the earthquake in Mexico to the toddler getting hit in the face by a foul ball at that baseball game to several of my friends having deaths in their families.  It just seems like there was no shortage of bad news anywhere.  And to top things off, I have been feeling so blue lately.  Trust me when I say random bouts of depression suck!

If I could ask you guys for one favor this week, it would be to pray and/or send out positive vibes into the universe.  The world as a whole could use a more positive week next week.  I feel like our hope is dwindling a bit.  Let's combat all this negativity and sadness with some positive energy, love, and outpourings of support and compassion!

What I'm Thankful For This Week

Safety |  Hurricane Irma came and went.  Thankfully by the time she reached our area, she had been downgraded to a tropical storm.  While some businesses and neighbors in our area experienced some storm-related damages and power outages, we emerged with just a yard of debris of the loose twigs and fallen leaves variety. 

For a while, I did worry that one of our neighbor's pine tree was going to fall.  That tree was flapping and swaying in the wind almost as bad as one those inflatable dancing men thingies.  Thankfully, it held on for dear life and is still standing.

IKEA |  I was in the Queen City this week and of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to stop by one of my favorite stores - IKEA!  It was just the place I needed to visit to help with inspiration for Moo's room and the kids' bathroom.  Moo's current room isn't very big and her bed eats up most her floor space.

Being in IKEA and seeing all the room setups helped us to come up with a room layout that will up open up her floor space drastically.  This means that she can finally get the desk she's been eyeing.  Also, I got to get an in-person look at what our future kitchen cabinets will look like.  Y'all, I'm so excited!!

Snuggles + Kind Words |  I think the kids picked up on the dip in my mood this week because they've been doing an extra great job of giving me more hugs, snuggles and words of love.  I don't think they fully grasp how much these things mean to me, but I hope they will in the future.  Now if only we can make it to the end of this bickering stage they seem to be stuck in.

Fall |  Can you guys believe the first day of Fall starts tomorrow?!!  😍😍🍂  I'm so excited and thankfully because it's one of my two favorite seasons of the year.   The temps have already started to drop and the bugs have already started to go into hiding (or whatever it is that they do).  I can't wait to squeeze in more grilling time and time out in the yard now that the sun isn't blazing.

I hope everyone has a great first day of Fall tomorrow!  Don't forget to put our positive vibes and show some kindness!

What are you grateful for this week?  Let me know in the comments below. 

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

Happy Thankful Thursday Y'all!!  We're in the process of hunkering down as we wait for Hurricane Irma to hit.  The weather reports for our area have been all over the place since there are conflicting reports on the path that she will end up taking.  Either way, I think that we can anticipate some strong winds and heavier than usual rain.  We're a few hours inland and I'm staying optimistic that we won't have any flooding and praying that we don't get any spin-off twisters either.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

Please  note there are affiliate links in this post.  This means that if you make a purchase using one of my links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Happy Thankful Thursday!  How is July already almost half over?  I feel like June flew by so fast.  I know part of the reason for me is our move.  We've been so absorbed in getting settled in and trying to finalize details for renovations.  It just sucks because school starts earlier here and I feel like our summer break has been eaten up by house stuff.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

So about my two week blog hiatus, let's just say that I under estimated how much energy (mental and physical) one needs to move.  No, this wasn't our first move, but it was definitely our biggest.  It was also probably our most emotional move because we left behind the only place both kids have known as home, friends and our favorite shopping spot - Target.  Nevertheless, we are settling into our new home and here's everything I've been thankful for over these last few weeks.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

Happy Thankful Thursday YUMMs!  I was on Twitter the other day and it dawned on me that the only shows I watch are the ones on Netflix.  Everyone was talking about all the shows that got cancelled and which ones got renewed.  Of course, I didn't know anything about a good 80% of the shows folks were tweeting about.  Y'all my goal for this summer is give cable television another try. especially since we're paying for it already.   Anyways, let's get into my gratitude list for the week.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

Happy Thankful Thursday YUMMs!  I'm in the middle of trying purge our apartment still of all the things we don't need.  It seems to be a never ending task.  For example, the kids got rid of a trash bag and half of toys already.  However, their toy bins to seem to be even fuller than they were before.  How Sway? I can't even believe how much stuff we've accumulated.  Pray for us as we continue to sort through our belongs.  

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

It's official y'all!  Only four more weeks of getting up to take Moo to school and then we'll be on Summer Break.  She's been asking to join her brother at home doing homeschool and I think we're going to give it a try.  There are a lot of positives to having her at home as well and I can't wait to see how it goes.  

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

How did April get here so fast?  With the days flying by, it finally hit me this week that we're saying goodbye to calling the Queen City our home.  I get a little emotional sometimes thinking about it and have to quickly refocus my mind on something else.  Why didn't I remember how bittersweet moving can be?  Pray for us guys that this will be a smooth transition for our family, especially Moo.  While she was initially excited to be moving, it's finally hit her that she has to leave her best friend and other two close friends behind.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

Happy Thankful Thursday!!  So, I'm just realizing that I haven't share our big news on the blog yet.  If you've subscribed to my newsletter, then you already know what our big news is.  Can you guess what it is?  I'll give you hint it's NOT a baby.   Keep reading to find out.

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List of Gratitude

I read a weather report on my weather app that said we might be getting a little snow this weekend.  Yep, snow in March.  And yes, it's over 70 degrees out right now.  Besides the mornings, temps here haven't really been cold enough for snow.  So, of course I'm not getting my hopes all the way up that we'll see snow on Saturday, but it would be nice.  I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Thankful Thursday | A Weekly List Of Gratitude

I can't believe that Thankful Thursday came back around so fast.  I guess 2017 is going to be much like 2016- Fast!  This means that I'm going to have to be more diligent than ever at documenting the happenings of this year.  After if life has taught me nothing else, it's that time waits for no one.  But enough of that let's jump into what's on my list of gratitude for this week.

Thankful Thursday

Hello February and Black History Month!!  One month down, eleven more to go.  Did you guys miss me?  I know, I know, I kind of just disappeared from the blog and social media for a bit, but I'm back now.  So let's hop into this.

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

"Let us pray for hearts that see beneath surface problems and into the soul of human need.  May we love others for who they may become in Christ.  May we befriend the friendless, love the sinner, and accept those with different points of view.  And as we walk in today's world, may we represent the Christ well."

~ Gracie Malone, Unafraid: 365 Days Without Fear

Happy Thankful Thursday!  Sorry taking last week off, but it's been around these parts.  I'm happy to be back on the wagon this week.  I need to be mediating on all of the positive things going on in my life right now with the way this week has turned out.

Earlier this week I had an issue with my furniture delivery that has now resulted in an injury for me.  I didn't see myself spending my weekend on bed rest, but it looks like that's what's going to be happening.  It's frustrating to say the least.  As a busy mom of two, having an injury that has me sidelined isn't ideal because Mommy Duty doesn't have specific hours.  I'm on-call 24/7.

I'm thankful though that my family has been praying for me and has offered to help in anyway that they can until I'm all better.  I'm also grateful that all of the furniture has arrived.  That's one less thing that I have to worry about right now.

I don't want to jinx anything, but I do think our Spring weather has arrived!  I'm grateful that the weather has been nothing short of lovely this week.  The kids and I got a head start on our gardening.  We planted tomatoes and watermelons and will be adding basil, parsley, lettuce and strawberries in the coming weeks.

So far gardening has been a great bonding experience for us.  The kids wake up every morning asking to water their plants.  The enthusiasm on their faces as they race to the balcony to see if their plants have sprouted yet is the cutest thing!

Lastly, I'm thankful for supportive friends, especially Makeba from MELISASource.  I had been silently following her blog for a while before we finally met in person last year at private event hosted by Coca-Cola.  We ended up seated next to each other during a presentation and clicked instantly after realizing we had so much in common.  

I can't express how great it is to have friends who support what you do/your dreams.  We all need someone to cheer us on and remind us that we're not in this alone from time to time.  If you don't have anyone in your circle cheering you on, it's never to let to make new friends.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

"For the Lord will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance."

~ Psalm 94:14

Happy Thankful Thursday!  Is February coming to a close already?!  I can't say that I'm sad this month flew by because February is a bit of a bittersweet month for me.  It's the month my Ma was born and died in.  Unlike the past few years, I wasn't depressed on her birthday or the day we held her funeral.  

They say time heals everything and six years later I can finally say that I feel like I'm healing from the devastating blow of losing someone who meant so much to me.  I know that I was extremely blessed to have aunt who doubled as a second mom and loved me like she had given birth to me.  My kids have this same relationship with my baby sister and I'm so grateful for that.  Whenever she comes to visit, I love standing back and just observing the way the three of them interact. There bond is so amazing.

I'm thankful that Moo got invited to her first Big Girl party this week!  This is a huge milestone for both of us.  I have a pretty big family.  So she's been to plenty of family birthday parties for cousins, but this one is different. (Did y'all know that not many parents these days throw parties for their kids?)  For starters, she won't be related to anyone at this party and it's a book club party!  Y'all know how much we love books.  I can't wait to see her in elements and making new friends this weekend.

This week I'm most thankful that since the second week of this month the Mr has been able to spend a lot more time with the family, especially the kids.  They love having him home more and not just seeing him in passing in the mornings.  I'm loving all the extra family and couple time.  Since having him home more there has been a noticeable change in our relationship.  

Listen when I tell you that it makes a difference when you make time to be with your spouse.  Before his work schedule had him on the opposite of our schedules.  In the mornings when our day was starting, his was ending.  Then he was leaving for work before school let out which meant Moo was only seeing him in the mornings and there were some mornings when she wasn't seeing him at all because he'd already gone to Sleep Land by the time she got up. 

JJ got quality time with him the afternoon before he prepared to go to work, but it was kind of rushed.  Now we can pick up Moo up together, he's here when we wake up and when the kids go to bed.  I'm trying not to get too used to this schedule because I know it's going to change again sometime next month, but it's so hard not to.  I've been brainstorming ideas of ways to bring in enough passive income that we can keep this schedule for the long term.

What are you grateful for this week?  Let me know in the comments.

Thankful Thursday

"The making of a saint doesn't occur in a laboratory but in the field of experience; we do not grow in spite of pain but because of it."

~ Gracie Malone, Unafraid: 365 Days Without Fear

Happy Thankful Thursday folks!  This week has been looonng!  I am one tired/drained/sleep-deprived mommy.   I literally feel like I'm hanging on by threads.  Remember I mentioned in last week's Thankful Thursday post that Moo had a bad cough/cold?  

Well, her cough/cold didn't go away over the weekend like I was hoping it would.  It actually got worst and I ended taking her to the pediatrician on Tuesday after she complained of being dizzy and "seeing spots."  Turns out she had two congested lungs and was on her way to getting pneumonia!!  Here I was treating my child with over-the-counter cough syrup for what appeared to be a common cold and cough, but was really something more serious.  Also, her oxygen levels were low.

I really wanted to beat myself up for not knowing she had something more than a common cold.  However as her doctor pointed out, she didn't have fever and she wasn't complaining of chest pains.  She did have to use her inhaler a few times, but she asthma and that usually flares up here and there, especially when she has a cold.  So, there's no way that I could have known what was really happening.

In a way, her dizzy spell and persistent cough really helped us to catch this before it was too late and I'm grateful for that.  I've heard horror stories about how rough pneumonia is on kids and I'm glad that we catch this in time before it turned that.  We've decided that since her body disguises serious issues like a common cold, it would be best if whenever she starts to show signs of being sick to bring her in ASAP and they will diagnose whether or not it's a common cold or her body playing tricks on us again.  I feel incredibly blessed that my children have a pediatrician who understands our struggle.  We don't WANT to be that family who goes to the doctor for every little thing, but we have it because the risk is too high otherwise.

She was very patient and did her best to soothe me as she explained Moo's condition the seriousness of it.  She knows that I'm one of those emotional moms who internalizes things.  At the end of the day, I just want both of my kids to have one year without something major happening to threaten their health.  If I could take away all of their allergies, their asthma and everything else, I would because it just doesn't seem fair.  Nevertheless, Moo is home and she is feeling better.

She's on steroids and breathing treatments every four hours to help her lungs and praying that we get good news when we go back for her recheck.  A hospital stay is not in the cards for us right now.  Through this all my family has been amazing.  They've been calling and texting to check on all of us around the clock and my mom even volunteered to take some time off from her job and come to sit with us.  I'm beyond thankful to have such an amazing support system.  My village holds me down and I wouldn't have gotten through these last few days without them.

I'm grateful that JJ is healthy and am praying that he doesn't catch anything.  I'm thankful that we may have more Snow Days coming.  There's a snow storm that's supposed to be coming our way and I'm open to the idea of being snowed in with my family so that I can catch up on some sleep.  Some news reports say we'll more likely get a few flurries and freezing rain while another said that we should expect to see a few inches and stay inside.  I guess we'll see what happens this weekend.

Lastly, I'm thankful for reconnecting with my besties.  We're all busy working moms and spouses.   So, it's been hard to really keep in contact, but this past weekend we talked about taking a girls' trip to Mexico and I'm super excited.  I've never been to Mexico and can't wait to go with my besties.  One of the pictures I put on my vision board was a passport with the word 'Travel' on it and it looks like that vision is already manifesting itself into reality!!

Have you ever been to Mexico?  What was your favorite place to visit?  Don't forget to let me know one thing you're grateful for this week in the comments!

Thankful Thursday

"We all know what it's to be excited to follow a dream, and we all know how hard this journey of following our dreams can be.  Knowing this, how can we see others experiencing similar things and not be there for them?  How can we refuse to help them?  How can we be jealous?  How can we not uplift them?  How can we not be a community?"

~ Kayla, Diamonds and Dreams: The Visionary Blog

It's that time again!  Happy Thankful Thursday folks.  This week started off with me trying to recover from a bad cold and a mini case of food poisoning from some bad shredded carrots that were in a salad I ate.  I will spare you the details and just say that I was definitely uncomfortable and slightly miserable until yesterday when I really started feeling like I was at 95%.  Thank you to everyone who posted well wishes on the last Thankful Thursday post.

I'm grateful to be feeling better.  Honestly, my cold and food poisoning couldn't have cleared up at a better time.  Tuesday, Moo started having flareups with her asthma at bedtime.  Also, she got this cough that I feel like we're going to have to see the pediatrician about on Monday if it hasn't cleared up by the weekend.  I will admit that I'm more than a little worried.

I'm worried that maybe I'm getting wound up over nothing, but yet I'm worried that what seems like asthma flareups as a result of her cough could turn into something worst.  Her breathing is slightly labored, but I already know the protocol of what to do to manage it here at home.  She's had asthma since birth and every attack isn't necessarily worthy of an ER trip.  My prayer is that it doesn't get worst.

I'm bummed because she's been kicking some school germs butt and hasn't really been sick at all this school year.  I guess a few of those pesky germs finally found a weak spot in her immune system.  However, I'm grateful that she's still been able to keep up her bubbly and bouncy personality.  She's still smiling, laughing, playing and talking our heads off nonstop.  That's got to be a good sign, right?

I've been working with JJ and trying to help get all the basics down that he will need to know for kindergarten this coming school year.  While he's struggling a bit with recognizing and memorizing his ABCs, he's picking up counting, number recognition and being able to state his full name, birthday and age like a champ.  He's always had his colors and shapes down almost since Day 1.  I think we have his obsession with Thomas & Friends to thank for his knowing his colors early one because when he couldn't pronounce their names he would call them by colors.

I'm thankful for all of his continued progress as well as his excitement over starting school next year.  Fingers crossed this excitement doesn't wear off over the summer.  I'm also thankful that he's been killing it with reading his nightly book readings.  His word pronunciation is getting better and better.

While my number 1 team, the Patriots, didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year, I'm grateful that my home team, the Carolina Panthers, did make it.  They've been underdogs in the NFL for years now and it's been so an incredible journey to see them blow everyone's expectations out of the water this season.  It's probably even more incredible being a Carolina native and being right here in the Queen City where you literally can't go anywhere without seeing some Panther pride/love.  I'm grateful that we have a QB who has constantly proved all the naysayers wrong not only about his playing ability, but his ability to be a team leader on and off the field.

Before Newton was even officially signed to the Panthers there were people calling him a thug and saying that having a Black quarterback was going to be the Panther's downfall.  People were giving him a month or two before his rookie status went to his head and he ended up busted for something illegal.  It's been sad to see how some people can't look beyond his skin color and repeatedly attack his character, but I'm proud of the way he's been handling it all and continuing to take the high road.

I know that it can't be easy for him to see how all these things.  I for one think that he's more than proven himself to be a stand-up guy and worthy role model.  We'll definitely be rooting for him and the rest of the team to win the Super Bowl!

Lastly, I'm stumbled across the quote above earlier today when I was catching up on some blog reading and it made realize how much thankful I am for the supportive community that starting YUMMommy has given me.  Y'all are truly amazing.  It's always been my dream to have some place to write other than a notebook.  Well, YUMMommy turned six years old this past January and I'm thankful for all of the kind and uplifting comments. 

Most importantly I'm thankful for everyone who has played a part in helping me to realize this dream of mine.  Whether this is your first or hundredth visit here, THANK YOU!

What are you grateful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

"It's easy to get frustrated when things don't work out the way you planned, but having faith allow you to accept everything at face value. ... Everything will happen precisely when it's supposed to and how it's supposed to."

~ Dulce Candy Ruiz, The Sweet Life

Happy Thankful Thursday!  Whelp, our snow and ice are gone.  The kids have gone back to school and it couldn't have happened at a better time.  It's not that I didn't enjoy having Moo home, but my body decided to catch a cold this week.  And not just a light cold.  I'm talking borderline the flu cold.

So I'm thankful that I'm only chasing around after one kid during the daytime.  Also, I'm grateful Moo is back in school because she's more likely to catch what I have if she's home during the day.  She's the kid who loves to sneak sips of mommy's drink and we'd love for her to finish up the school year not missing any days of school.  I'm praying that I'll be at least 75% better by the weekend.

If you haven't heard Kita from Kokoa Magazine and her family experienced a tragic loss over the weekend when her husband was killed in a freak accident related to Winter Storm Jonas.  My heart aches for her and her kids as they go through this difficult time.  I'm so thankful to see the outpouring of support for her because if you've had the chance to interact with Kita then you know she is nothing short of supportive.

I've had the pleasure of getting to know her online and she's been very supportive and one of my most loyal blog readers and commentators.  I can't even begin to imagine what she's going through, but I'm thankful it's been made known that she and her family are not in this alone.  We all need support during the rough times in our lives and I'm grateful she has that.  If you would like to support Kita and her family please consider making a donation here.  There is an option to donate anonymously if want to. 

In happier news, I'm thankful that everything is falling into place for our move.  There was a brief hiccup, but instead of getting frustrated I took my concerns to God in prayer.  This process is definitely giving me a refresher course on the importance of trusting God's timing.  At the end of the day He knows what the best move is for us and I have to follow His lead.  

What are you giving thanks for this week?