Day 1, Take 3

So, that no yelling thing…that’s a lot harder than I expected it to be.  I expected to need to restart, but I didn’t expect to need to restart on the 2nd day, or even the 3rd day!

The second day, I hadn’t slept very well, so I was tired, and G didn’t seem to be eating well to me, which always gets me edgy.  I didn’t yell, but I lost my cool more than I should have, and for me, that’s enough to call it a do-over day.

The third day, I wasn’t paying attention to everything and so I honestly don’t know if I made it without yelling or otherwise inappropriately losing my cool, but I’m calling today Day 1, Take 3.

So far today, things are going okay.  I’m a bit tired, but even with a 1:30am wake-up call from a crying toddler who had fallen off his bed, I haven’t yelled or lost my cool today.  I hope I can keep it up for the rest of the day!

Happy Things Today

1.  G and I went to watch trains today.  I’ve been promising this to him for a couple of weeks now, and I finally was able to make good on the promise today.  Hubby is busy doing stuff for his mom today on our last day visiting family, so it was a perfect day for getting out of his hair and staying out of his hair.  We went to a rail station, didn’t see much, and I kept feeling like I should be on the other side of the station (large station).  So I managed to find out how to make it over to the other side, and it was VERY rewarding.  We got to be between an airport (industrial area, not a typical small passenger airport) and the train station, so we both saw trains AND airplanes.  It was fantastic!  We just hung out in the back of our car, sunscreen on, bag of lunch by us, and a couple of water bottles to stay hydrated.

2.  While watching trains, a big, 5-engine trained pull up on the track nearest to us!  I was really excited about how long the train was (I love trains!), and we watched as it waited.  It seemed that the track we were closest to was the track that the trains needed to stop at on their way through, much like those truck weigh stations along the freeways.  As we waited, the conductor got out and was walking from engine to engine, probably checking that things were working well.  After the last engine, he saw us, and waved hi as he was getting off.  I barely caught it in time, then we waved hi back.  After another bit of a wait, the train was ready to leave, and the conductor pulled the train whistle for a “Peep Peep!” before he left!  That definitely made my day!

3.  As hubby was cleaning his mom’s garage, he found a toy plane for G to play with.  At nap time, G took the plane and a car to bed.  He wasn’t acting very sleepy, but I was drifting off, and I asked if he could go climb into his bed so I could have a nap.  He clambered down and got into his bed, happily playing with the plane and car.  It was just so cute.

4.  Lime curd with Dubliner cheese on crackers.

5.  Peanut butter and dark honey sandwiches.

6.  Finding a double-pack of window shades for the car on sale!

Five+ Things I’m Grateful For Today

1.  I’m grateful for this blog.  While I’m still working on making the time every day to post, I’m grateful for a place to post my thoughts, to reflect on things that have made me happy and that I’m grateful for each day.

2.  This quote from my husband:  “If you saw yourself the way I see you, you’d blush.”

3.  A husband who works hard for his family.  It was touching to hear from my sis-in-law this last week that my mother-in-law had commented that we could never move out of state because Rich is so good at helping fix this around the house when we visit.  He fixed a drawer that has been broken for awhile; he’s cleaning his parents’ garage which is mainly a storage area; he fixed up my blog so I could access it again for this challenge of mine; he takes pictures of my craft projects for me so that I can blog about them on my craft blog; he watches G so I can take a shower before heading out for the day; he puts G in bed when I need to be gone in the evenings; he works hard on his freelance work; everything he does, he just works hard at it, especially when it comes to things to be done for his family.

4.  Air conditioning and sunscreen.

5.  Our car.  I was feeling especially grateful for our XTerra today.  It’s perfect for stopping somewhere, opening the back, and chilling in the back of the car while we watch planes, trains, eat a to-go-dinner.  I was thinking about that as I was realizing that, were it not for the XTerra, we’d need some type of pop-up shelter or something to haul with us if we wanted to go see trains or planes and still stay in the shade and protected somehow.

6.  A train conductor who noticed us and made our day by waving hello and letting the train whistle along his way for us.

7.  A quilting machine so that I can quilt gifts for friends and keep practicing my quilting techniques.

8.  Sewing machines and fabric.

9.  Blankets.

10.  Naps.