Thanks

I'm in the thanksgiving mood a little bit late this year. It seems that time just goes by too fast far too often. When it's a holiday and I'm working at Maddie's pace it seems that I rarely have a moment to really absorb what is going on around me. So now that I have a minute of quiet and peace, I'd like to say that I am thankful for these things:

My beautiful daughter Maddie -- who despite constantly reminding Rob and I of ourselves, is nothing less than her own distinctive self, and what a wonderful self that is.

My husband, a loving, patient, generous and thankfully funny man who daily reminds me of the person that I would like to be.

My Mom, who gives of her time and her energy every day to help me and to help Maddie, and most of all is just the best Mom that the ever was.

My family, every single one of them who make every holiday not just a fun day but a day that I look forward to all year.

That both Rob and I have jobs that we love going to every day. And that after years of feeling something lacking, I can say that the job I do makes a difference.

That we have a roof over our head, warm clothes on our backs, food on our table, and love in our lives.

OCD

Maddie may be a little obsessive compulsive. Her favorite game at the moment is to pick out like objects and line them up one at a time in a particular place, like:


Plastic shapes on the coffeetable;


crayons under the couch cushion (please note this was a secret spot. I lifted the couch cushion to reveal this. And is it just me or are these color organized?)


Letters on a window sill...


Not that it disturbs her view!


at GaMa's house, she goes through over 100 legos and pulls out only singles to line up on the window sill...


or on top of the toilet seat:)

Hmmm, I wonder where she gets it from?

Glee

It's not just a tv show, it's a real honest to goodness emotion and if you ever doubted what it looks like, here you go:

I feel a Shift of the winds in the air...

On a completely un-baby related note, I want to give a shout out to a new store called Shift. my friend Julie is an awesome designer and has an amazing collection. Though her store is in Chicago, she takes mail orders! I'm trying to pick which dress to get for myself...

A Six-Pack and A Bike

I was going through my pictures from this summer and thought a few reminders were appropriate:

Remember, don't drink and drive.


And check under the hood every once in a while.

Fragrant Colors

Some people choose to use candles to spread delightful aromas-- we've chosen to go with a different perfumed wax. Yesterday Maddie was running her crayons over the grate of our heater (you know like a jailbird does with his metal tin over the bars) when oops, the crayon fell through. We have very nice strong heat and our radiators are hidden behind wall registers. Despite my efforts with two metal skewers (which are now red) I couldn't quite pinch the crayon out of the ducts. It seems like it's going to be a crayola scented winter for us!


The felon (stripes and all) plotting her next crime.


Her partner in crime who hides the weapons of destruction by eating them.


Maddie at work on a rehabilitation project.


Maddie explains the theory behind her work.

This does of course bode of other future problems. I have caught Maddie walking down the hall running a crayon against our lovely white walls. And yesterday she got a hold of a sharpie and "scribbled" (cap on luckily!) all over a window. I think this may be the child that destroys our deposit. Thank God they now make Markers that only color on special paper!

The Help

Today as Maddie and were walking in our neighborhood, I saw an appliance boxout on someone's curb. It read "Dryer"... And my heart did a little potter-patter as I thought "ooooo... A new dryer!" Mind you I don't even have a washer or dryer, but I can imagine the excitment of the people in that house. The first load of laundry, their smiling faces, the sigh of contentment as the first load spins (until they pay their credit card of course). It made me wonder, at what point of our lives do we begin to get excited about cleaning?




Today is my housework day. As I sat back and watched Maddie clean the floors, I actually felt a tingle of happiness -- or perhaps just satisfaction-- in having good help and a clean house. Ok, ok, so maybe I do actually have to clean -- but Maddie does like to "help." she loves brooms and swifters. She also loves to help pick up now. She indulges her secret OCD side by picking up all her blocks or letters one at a time (and then moving them one at a time to someplace else. Yesterday she put away every card in a 104 deck, one at a time into a card box. Wow, what a tangent! The point is Maddie and I enjoy cleaning because we enjoy the results.

This year my Christmas wishlist is almost all organizational things. Honestly and truly, I would love to receive crates and photo boxes and things to make my house cleaner! I have so many projects that I have just been dreaming of. Guess I'm a little odd!

Speaking of projects, my cousin now has an awesome design blog. I love reading this and truthfully I learn a little something new about her everytime I read. This blog is a wonderful display of her talents and style -- and since Kate is a reader I'm going to shamelessly request a blog topic. Kate, what are your cleaning secrets? Share with us because you certainly have one of the most pristine abodes I've ever seen!