Sparkle and Fizz

Hahah.  I am realllllllly good at sticking to my Daily Gratitude Posts.  {Insert Eye Roll Here}.  Well, I guess I can blame life, sicknesses, etc., but the reality is---I haven't been sticking to my Lenten Commitment of being Intentional.  But, let's forget the past and just start moving forward, right? Day Nine: Thursday was a rough day.  HJ was still sick-ish.  I started having the WORST sinus pressure.  I had a horrible headache.  I was out of ibuprofen for myself and I really didn't feel like going anywhere, despite the fact that I was beginning to get a little stir-crazy.  But, then I remembered how incredible Target Pick-Up is!  Just click, add to cart, checkout, boom.  Less than two hours later, I get a notification that my order is ready and I drive myself (and my sick kid) to a parking spot, GPS notifies Target of my arrival, and check---I have a bottle of ibuprofen and Advil Sinus meds in my hands and I'm back on my wa...

Today was my MOPS Day.  MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers and this year, I'm the Coordinator for the Council Bluffs Group.  It's been a ton of fun, but it's also a lot of work.  And a lot of dedication.  We had planned for today's meeting to be our Annual Service Project and this year, we decided to center it around "gratitude" and "community".  We decided to make Thank You's for some of our Community Organizations who put our city and our families at the forefront of their missions.  And then we were going to deliver them. When I got up this morning, I was greeted with a "Mommy, I don't feel well.  Can I stay home with you and not go to school?" from my 4-year old son.  I felt his forehead.  He was burning up.  30 seconds later, our thermometer confirmed his statement---he had a temperature of 101.2.  Great.  No MOPS for me. But, as the Coordinator, I felt an obligation to my group!  This was our Service Proj...

Well, clearly I have been slacking.  Apparently I wasn't quite as committed to writing out my gratitudes as I thought I was.  Sorry.  I literally thought out my gratitudes, but failed to get them written down.  However, part of that was because we were gone, spending some much needed quality time as a family with friends who are like family over the weekend.  And I'm just now getting back into the swing of life again... So, here is what I was thinking about over the past four days... Day Four: I am so grateful for laughter.  According to www.psychologytoday.com, "Laughter reduces pain, increases job performance, connects people emotionally, and improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and brain."  And let me tell you, Saturday night was definitely not lacking in the laughter department!  J and our friends played a game, very similar to Apples to Apples, and the laughter that ensued was unreal!  We're talking, sides aching, tears rolling...