The day after yesterday

Today I'm thankful for a good night's sleep last night as was anticipated yesterday! 2 yr old woke up at 5am but managed not to get up til after 6 which feels acceptable, and the main thing is the chunk of unbroken sleep preceeding 5am. I must start being sensible and going to bed earlier again though, but I do like my me time, and it is important too, for sanity, which everyone benefits from!

This morning I did an on-the-spot "Are you thankful for anything right now?" question in the car and 5 yr old immediately replied 'school' which is always encouraging! - especially as we hadn't been talking about it so he wasn't just saying whatever was topical :)

I'm thankful for a fun, extended playtime in the rain and the exuberant singing all the school spontaneously did together in it! For radiators. For the leafy park across the road from school that the kids go to play in most days at lunchtime. For my mum looking after my 2 yr old on Thursday mornings, in such a fun, loving way, and for him feeling so comfortable going off with her. For relationships that transcend differences. For story-reading with my 2 yr old snuggled on my knee this afternoon. For a tidy house. For finally remembering to put the bins out ready for bin day (the first time in about a month! - 'overflowing' isn't even close!). For cheap wholesome easy meals like baked potatoes with cheese and cherry tomatoes. For cosy dressing gowns and my North Face body warmer which I pretty much live in; how did I live without it??! And for the free bag my 5 yr old got with his Cbeebies magazine Christmas present, which is just right for his packed lunch and snack, and he really likes it :)

Bargain!

I did my food shopping today. It came to £105. It cost me £10... I'm thankful to my parents for giving us their Nectar points!! Included in the shop today was pirate-themed kids thank you notes which my 5 yr old is excited about using for any spontaneous thank you letters he feels like writing :) I'm thankful for that enthusiasm too, and the inspiring notes!

I'm also thankful today for making lovely playdough successfully and it being played with by both boys for a decent amount of time (until 2 yr old pulled an open tin of tuna off the side and mushed it into it..) For a nice conversation after school with 5 yr old's friend's dad. That my car didn't run out of petrol before I made it to the petrol station.. That Wednesdays are so much fun in school for my big boy coz he does craft and art all morning and dancing in the afternoon, all of which he loves :) That my toddler ate lots this evening and should therefore sleep better tonight. We must have had all of about 3 hours last night due to a rumbly tumbly after pears apparently being the only acceptable sustenance from about 4:30pm yesterday. I'm thankful for the biscuits I've made that we can munch on this evening. And I'm thankful that our friend from school is having us all round for a play tomorrow :)

How do I keep thinking up new titles for very similar posts???!

Today I'm thankful for the little buddies my 5 yr old has at his little school, and for the fun he had with the one who came round for a play afterwards today. They made a castle from our junk modelling box, played with the new marble run, and also with the Nerf gun and a target they made (though 2 yr old's head was also used as such... They involved him very well in everything else though...) I'm thankful for cheese and bread which see us through many an ill-planned day! For memory-making torential rain on the way to school this morning when we couldn't see in front of us! For being stretched and moulded by challenges and for being encouraged and edified by understanding people. For the fact that the smell of dirty, damp laundry is starting to be counterbalanced by the smell of clean laundry in our bedroom. For playing with my son and his reception class and toddlers most of the morning and part of the afternoon :) For a walk in the dark up the lane with my 5 yr old having survived the 'hazel' (as his friend called the hail - I said "Ooh, can you hear something at the window?" and he ran to look out and exclaimed excitedly, "It's hazel!" Had me wondering for a moment..). For being reunited and catching up with the other families in our school after the Christmas break, and for my children sleeping well last night, which will have helped my eldest with being back today, and also helped me - I felt awake all day - bonus! For getting lots of housework done while my little one had a nap, and for chatting with him sitting on the side while I did the washing up after he'd woken, and he was getting into everything in the cupboards up on the side. And for my Christmas present from my husband which I finally got today! - 'How Clean Is Your House' series 1 & 2!! (I did ask for it :) )

Aww, lots to be thankful for - who'd have thought! How lovely :)

Today

Our first round of thankfulness went down well at tea time today :) We have a few little bits of paper stuck on the window with things we're grateful for :) It looks a bit messy but it's a good mess! I've tried this before, without sticking the notes up, but never really stuck to it (no pun intended!) but, now that it's an official goal that I've written down and everything, I think I'll be more intentional in doing it longterm :) Among other things my 5 yr old was thankful for food, snow, Christmas, toys, and Father Christmas.. My husband was thankful for a free computer (thanks to my sister and her husband who have just moved to America and left it behind!), and my 2 yr old said thank you when I gave him some pear so I'll add that to the notes later!

Today I'm thankful for my old school friend, Caroline Murdoch, moving back to Sheffield a couple of months before me. I'm thankful that, although meeting up has proved kinda tricky, that she had us round for her one yr old's birthday party this afternoon :) I bearly (sp?!) managed to speak to anyone for keeping my 5 yr old occupied who was wanting stories read to him, but it was nice to feel welcome, see friends, make (loose) arrangements to get together without kids so conversation might actually be had, and just to have somewhere to take the kids! I'm thankful that my family all ate the dinner I cooked, and that Caroline provided the lunch! I'm thankful for Josh and my 5 yr old having fun writing a story together in bed just now, about a 'beautiful farm'. For a nice little card-making session with the kids earlier. And I'm thankful that my 2 yr old is sleeping through the evenings so I can go read my book now without interruption!

Thanks

Today I'm thankful for parents who are great with the children and very generous with their food! We went round spontaneously today and ate a lot, then were later sent home with a lot more thanks to surplus left-overs from their new year's eve party last night which out-did ours! I'm also thankful for clean, dry clothes and children laughing so hard you can't hear them when we're blowing raspberries on them or their Grandpa's tickling them and holding them upside down :) And I'm thankful for good friends, always :)

Gratitude

I've decided to try and get to my blog at least once a week (ideally everyday but that's not realistic!) to log whatever springs to mind that I'm thankful for. This is something I've decided to encourage in my kids and family this year, so I figured I should do it myself too! It will also serve as a little record for me :)

So my new year family goals include hoping to remember to:

Ask the kids each day at random moments what they're thankful for in that moment.

At least once a week to hopefully manage to, while the family all happen to be together (eg tea time), write down/draw things that each of us feel thankful for that day, and stick these up to help us remember life's blessings amidst any trials.

Ask the kids at bedtime if they can think of 3 good things that happened to them or that they did that day, hoping that this will help them slow down and dwell on positive experiences as well as talking through those less-so.

Keep a box of thank you cards out as an invitation to give thanks to someone when they've done something for us that's gone un-thanked, thus helping the kids express what they feel thankful for (they'll have to dictate to me!)

So today I'm thankful for a houseful of new friends in our new city. For a house that's practically in a park. For a supportive and loving family. For holding a 5lb baby who is in good hands. For sponateous bread and butter pudding-making, inspired by my 5 yr old's 'concoction'. For children that are generally happy to eat healthy food. For the Holy Experience blog that inspired my family gratitude stuff. For Lauren Mallon who introduced me to said blog.. And for Aldi!

Happy new year; here's to choosing to think about "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—anything that is excellent or praiseworthy" (The Bible). 2012: a year of cultivating gratitude whatever comes our way!

Discipline

Meant to say in my previous post, about discipline etc, that I think the more children there are in a family the more we all have to take different needs into account and all be considerate of one another, which logically means not being able to follow every child's every whim and needing to be a bit more firm at times, for the sake of everyone. I enjoy having a level of freedom at home for my kids, allowing them to take risks etc, but going from one to two children did mean I had to change some aspects of parenting, and I can imagine if I had 4, 5 or 6 young children I would need to be running on a whole other level of organisation! So I think of the discipline at school in that sense - ie necessarily more strict than feels natural for me, but stillin the context of a loving family.

To get my perspective right I try to think of my priority as being God-led rather than child-led, and as the attitude at school is to be God-led I pray that He is indeed leading and guiding us, giving us wisdom and sensitivity for each child. I am also really pleased that the school's stance is that we don't punish the kids (because Jesus has already taken the punishment) - we simply seek to help them see that there are consequences to our actions, and we always get alongside them one-on-one for a chat and a pray if a situation arises, and we see each new lesson as a fresh start so the kids always experience grace and the chance to start afresh :)

At home I'm relatively permissive, partly because I can be with having less kids, and partly because my tolerance levels are pretty high, eg I'm perfectly happy for my house to be used as a jungle gym, and I'm not overly bothered about pleases and thank you's etc... I tend just to intervene if someone is posing a danger to themselves or others (physically or emotionally), or if they are likely to damage something that matters. At school because there are lots of families working together, as well as higher numbers, we need to be a bit more clear on expectations to help facilitate harmony between us, which I think is a beautiful thing and certainly good for everyone, kids and adults alike! We also all learn from each other which helps avoid a blinkered view of parenting.

In keeping with the democratic spirit of the school I would like to have a session with the kids to see what rules and consequences they think would help us all get along because it would help them feel empowered in, and have ownership of, the whole process, and in any case they would probably come up with the same sort of stuff as anyone or maybe actually have better ideas. Maybe I'll suggest this :)