January 31st--Day 31--Feet!

It's January 31st and Number 3 refuses, always refuses to wear shoes.  The hardwood floors are cold, I mean really cold, but he just won't wear socks or slippers etc.  It's not a battle I am willing to wage, because I will lose spectacularly.  (For those that might be concerned, remember when the heat when out and the house was not just cold but actually freezing?  He did ask for his slippers then, so he does have a threshold, which makes me feel more comfortable in my decision to NOT choose this war.)

So anyway, today I am thankful for piggies!

January 30th--Day 30--Mail (take 2)

Now it is Number 3's turn to enjoy his Christmas present from Meme!

So today I am thankful for some timely new reading material! Number 3 was thrilled to have his own 'zine.'

January 29th--Day 29--Snuggles

I love that Number 3 requests to snuggle at tv time. This actually inhibits me from getting household stuff done during the ideal opportunity, however I recognize that snuggle requests will not last forever so I will enjoy them while I can!

So today I am thankful for snuggles!

January 28th--Day 28--Eat the Rainbow!

Sometimes cooking is more fun (and pretty) than other times.

Today I am thankful that my children occasionally like the healthier options I am attempting more frequently.

January 27th--Day 27--Simplicity

This the same image just with a HDR filter laid on the top one to show the 2 similar colors more in contrast. Number 2 took all the regular cushions off of the sofa and dragged the Yogibo (read: giant bean bag) onto it instead. "It's more comfortable." Well, duh!

Today I am thankful for the simplicity of a child's solution to a (admittedly probably nonexistent) problem!

January 26th--Day 26--Playdates!

Number 1 had 2 little friends from her class over today.  Their teacher had mentioned a couple of times how well they got along together and so I decided to give them a little outside of school chance to play.  They had a great time and I can't wait to do it again!

Today I am grateful for new friends for the kiddos and for me too!

January 25th--Day 25--A Black Cat

We did some visiting today and MIL has a black cat named Zeke. I don't love cats, but he was a very nice boy to put up with the general commotion my gaggle heralded upon his usually tranquil environment.

So today, I am thankful for the chance to photograph a cat while not having to own one!

Also I thought the birds outside looked like they wanted to have their picture taken as well!

January 24th--Day 24--What Snowmen Do At Night, Part 2

Come on that's just kind of cool!

This is a stretch, for the thankful project but it's all I have for today and it really is cool! I've never seen snowmen do this! When we built them on Sunday, they were standing tall, now they are complete arch ways! Science and nature are cool. Full stop. And yeah, I am still a nerd-girl;)

January 23rd--Day 23--What Snowmen Do At Night, Part 1

Our snowmen are falling and we are pretty sure they won't get up!

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss gravity and melting and other fun things with my kiddos! Also sort of looking forward to seeing if the backbend will actually come to complete fruition!

January 22nd--Day 22--Haircut!

That's it, I've had it, it's time for a haircut!!

Today I am thankful that Number 3 chose to behave while his mother was wielding various sharp instruments around his head! Ha!!

January 21st--Day 21--The Local Library

Number 2 just is loving to build these days. We visited our library and she had some fun building!

Today, I am grateful that the world is Number 2's oyster: maybe she will be an architect or a structural engineer:)

January 20th--Day 20--Beauty in Nature

I really just had fun in the early morning playing with the camera, and the trees!

Today I am grateful for the white blanket, if only for a moment, and the beauty and serenity it creates.

January 19th--Day 19--More Snow Play!

I love that all 3 of the kids can play in the snow now, Number 3 doesn't last very long, but is easily convinced to at least play the requisite 20 minutes required for hot cocoa consumption.  The other 2 can play quite a while!!

Today, I am grateful again for things that don't have screens that make my kids play happily and together!

January 18th--Day 18--Disney on Ice

This is an easy one, I took the girls to see Disney on Ice with some friends!

So today, we are grateful to be able to go on special adventures with friends. The 4 of them had a great time.

January 17th--Day 17--Pay Day

Even as youngsters, we are instilling in them the sense of wonder in a Friday at the end of your work day pay day!  That's right we have a Saturday-Friday chore work week in our home in which (if all chores are done) our kids can earn a whopping $1.50 a week! That's never happened, because they never do all their chores, but hey, it could happen.  Still, allowances is almost as much of a hot button topic around here as breast-feeding and toilet training (but those days are behind me, so allowance is way more prevalent!)  Anyone I know can talk your ear off nine ways til Sunday (did I just make that up?) about why they handle chores and allowances they way they do from the "we don't give our kids allowances, chores are expected as functioning members of the family" to "$7 a week otherwise it would take too long for them to save up for things they want and then they'll stop doing chores." In our house we have an opinion somewhere in the gray there and it seems to be working for us. Of course, we complicate things because on top of the actual US currency our offspring can earn we have a special non-actual-monetary-value currency (called tokens) that our kids earn that they can trade in for all manner of rewards like a movie with popcorn, or dessert or if they save up that made up currency long enough, they can take the whole family out to a restaurant of their choice!  Oh yes, we like to be complicated...we are geeks after all.  But our kids can keep up with it and that's all that matters.  Anyway, that was long-winded, so here's the picture:

So today I am grateful to be in a position to be able to start teaching our kids the value of a dollar and a hard day's work.  I am grateful that my children are already understanding that sometimes that toy your friend got for her birthday that you REALLY want might take some time to save up for (especially at a $1.50 a week!) I am grateful that they are learning early and hopeful that they will retain some of these early lessons and apply them when there are a few more zeroes in their paychecks!

January 16th--Day 16--Independence

Sometimes, it's the little things...you know like not having to ask your kids to do something they are supposed to do everyday 100 times.

Today I am grateful that sometimes you don't have to ask for the bed to be made!

January 15th--Day 15--mail

SMeme bought Number 2 and Number 3 each a magazine subscription that should will start this month. Number 2 got her first issue out of the mailbox today--and while getting her own mail didn't quite have the impact we'd hoped, she definitely loved the magazine!

So today I am grateful for watching Number 2's expression at receiving her very first piece of mail.

January 14th--Day 14--Timing is everything

This is rather a cheat because I hadn't intended to use this as my photo of the day but Tuesday turned into something of a train wreck despite it's wondrous beginnings...

Anyway, today I am grateful that sometimes my children let me sleep in (which means they also sleep in) and believe me, 6:51 is totally sleeping in!!!

January 13th--Day 13--TKD

I love that my girls are willing to try new things with or without their friends, and I am really happy that they are taking a liking to something which actually gives them a worthwhile and applicable life skill!

So today, I am grateful for Taekwondo (TKD)!

January 12th--Day 12--Doggies!

A very busy Sunday left me with no light, no patience to find batteries for my external flash but sleepy victims (I mean models!)

So today, and most days really, I am grateful for the Canine Wonders!

January 11th--Day 11--BBFGX

Today my gym launched new programs, and I got to take pictures again.  This gym has changed my life, in no small way!  The programs are fast-paced, fun and very effective.  The staff is knowledgeable, encouraging and energetic.

Today, I am grateful for these 2 ladies, and the gym I go to!

January 10th--Day 10--Snapseed

I've been told and believe that the best camera to use is the one you have on you--so I've been looking into iPhone camera settings and apps to play with on days that the big camera is not usable (right now the batteries are charging for a big day tomorrow.)

So today I am grateful for the opportunity to explore Snapseed if only for a few minutes before bath time!

January 9th--Day 9--Play dates!

Today we were minus Number 1 as it was her first day of ski club which leaves directly from school (she was gone from 8am until 6:30pm!!!!) So Numbers 2 and 3 had a nice lunch, went to the library to play and get some new books and then we had a little impromptu play date with some friends we don't get together with that often. They had a nice time painting and being silly.

So today, I am grateful for my friends and their children--and unplanned yet sometimes completely necessary play dates!!!

January 8th--Day 8--Ponies!

Number 2 sure does love those My Little Ponies and so far between her allowance, her birthday and Christmas she has managed to snag everything that Build-a-Bear has released for that particular franchise so far! And every time she gets to watch the show, she drags all of her furry friends to watch it with her!

So I am going to say today I am grateful for the Ponies, because they make my Number 2 so genuinely happy!

January 7th--Day 7--innocence!

Today I am grateful that Number 3 doesn't know what blood is at all, and therefore doesn't freak out about it (unlike his older sisters.) He calmly called to me, "Mommy, can you wipe me up?" indicating a tiny droplet on his finger. I don't think he had a clue as to what was on his face.

January 6th--Day 6--Pinterest

Yeah, I am just going to go ahead and say it...you can expect there to be a bunch of days that I am grateful for Pinterest!  So many fun and easy and great ideas to be found, and this project 365 will be even more of an incentive to try them out!

So...we started, several days ago with black acrylic paint and a paper cup...we made circles in random joining patterns and let that dry.  Once Number 1 got home from school and I ascertained the homework level, it was time to break out the watercolor paints (and the camera).  I love projects that all 3 kids enjoy--nevermind that Number 1 lasted longer than the other two...combined...times three...or more!  

Nonetheless, the kids had fun, we created art together as a family and no screens were involved! I call this a total win! Plus I think they all came out well! Number 2 says she wants to finish hers over several day (hey, how long can a girl be expected to toil over one piece of paper a day anyway?) Number 1 did hers the way the project recommended (no surprise there) but says she likes the back of her page almost as much as the front! And Number 3, well, he isn't even three years old yet and it came out pretty cool!

January 5th--Day 5--Toys!

So today, in the midst of the clean-up of the freeze...seriously I can't describe the nightmare that is warming a house up at night--I am grateful for the things that aren't electronic that capture my children's imaginations and keep them busy!!

In all seriousness, I am really rather more grateful for something I didn't capture in photos, but I think I will make it a mission at some point...and that is friendship.  2 people in particular really went out of their way to help me and my family as we really struggled for several hours late last night.  I appreciate them more than I can even say.

January 4th--Day 4--Frozen stuff!

OK, really there was just so much potential here and I blew it, but by the time we got back home from Vermont to discover our house was at 40 degrees and falling at 8:30PM, I was far more concerned with keeping my children warm and preventing any pipes from bursting than I was with photography, but I did remember to take 1 picture...of my shampoo that had frozen solid!!!

Also, I didn't take these, but I did edit them, but still they don't count.  Here is day 2 on the mountain for the girls with their Daddy, Bampa and cousin Hailey.

January 3rd--Day 3--Nap time!

We escaped the snow storm (not really) up to Vermont yesterday afternoon, and Bampa headed off to work on Friday and the girls and Daddy headed to the mountain leaving me and my lil guy with less than my full arsenal of stuff to entertain him with.  Luckily for me though, he was tired, so today I am thankful for naps, and the non G-rated movies they allow me to watch!

January 2nd--Day 2--Snow Play

The first snowstorm of the year brings out the kid in all of us (and the desire for hot chocolate!)  So despite the bitterly cold temperatures, today I am grateful for the chance to play in the snow with my children!

January 1st--Day 1--New Beginnings

For a lot of reasons, reasons I won't share here--but ask me in person and I just might; I am doing another Photo a Day Challenge in 2014.  I am going to try to make this themed, something that makes me genuinely grateful everyday.  My guess is there will be some repeats, maybe a lot of repeats of theme, but not of images.  My goals improve my photography skills and my attitude, come along with me! Better yet, do one of your own and link it here.

New Year's Day, January 1st, the first page in the 365 page personal journal of gratitude. The new year is all about new beginnings right?  So today, I am grateful for the chance to start again, grateful for new life (even in winter!)