NYR 1-3-14

1.  We pay what I think is an exorbitant monthly fee to park our car in the garage of the building where we pay what I think is an exorbitant monthly rent to live here.  

However, on mornings like today, when Mac and I decided to run errands on his snow day, and the temperature at 11:45am was 22 with a windchill temperature of 1 degree, I decided what we pay is just about perfect. 

I got in a car today that was relatively warm and best of all?  I didn't have to thaw out my car, wipe off snow, or scrape ice, like these poor car owners had to do at some point:

Today I am especially thankful for covered garage parking, no matter the cost. 

2. I have never owned snow boots in my life.  Even when we lived in Baltimore, where it most assuredly snowed and where I most assuredly shoveled snow, I didn't own snow boots.  I have no idea why that is.  Mac was little then and I guess we didn't go out much when it snowed.  The one time we took Mac sledding, he wore yellow rain boots.  Classy. I know people thought we were negligent to not have a toddler in warm snow boots, but I'm sure we put two pairs of socks on his little feet to keep him warm.  We are, after all, the people who used to Scotchguard our jeans before going on the annual church youth group ski trip.  We are cold weather morons. Scotchguarding jeans works nearly as well as wearing two pairs of socks inside rain boots.  Morons.

Fast forward 8 years and we're in a snow-producing area again. I went out and bought myself some cheap snow boots as soon as the snow started falling.  They are not very pretty but they're decently warm and that's good enough for me.

Mac has been wearing his hiking boots in the snow up until now.  Last night after playing in the snow, he pointed out what looked like a seam issue to me.  This morning, upon closer inspection, I realized there was actually a hole in the boot.  

He was desperate to play in the snow right then, so I did what any cold weather moron would do:  I wrapped his socked foot in kitchen plastic wrap and we slid his protected foot inside the holey boot.  Morons.

We bought him very fancy snow boots this afternoon and he's worn them outside now two times to play in the snow and he's declared them perfect.  And they're so big that I can wear them when he outgrows them. 

For warm feet in very cold and snowy weather, I am so thankful.

NYR 1-2-14

This afternoon it started snowing around 4:30.  I have seen more snow in the last month than I've seen in the last decade.  And I'm really pretty done with it all.

Except that my boy loves it.

I mean LOVES it.

It's like he doesn't have cold receptors in his nerve endings. He can spend hours with it falling down his shirt collar and melting down his back.  

Really, he's a freak of nature.

And even though I hate the snowy, wet cold, I love anything that makes my boy this giddy.

           (Mac behind the snow fort he made tonight in the 34-degree temperature)

Today, I'm thankful for yet another snowfall that brought my boy so much happiness. (But really Arlington County, he needs to go to school tomorrow.)

NYR 1-1-14

We hosted our traditional New Year's dinner yesterday for friends from all different points of our lives.  One of Jimmy's Carolina friends from 20+ years ago, a girlfriend from Brasilia days in 2005, and new friends we've made here in Arlington all crammed into our little apartment for an afternoon of great conversation, a lot of laughter and some good food.  

I am so grateful for each and every one of my friends, whether we've been friends for 20 years or 2 months. In this crazy life we lead, friends become family and I've got some stellar friends-as-family.

Attitude of Gratitude

My New Year's resolution is a repeat of one I did a few years ago. 

No, not the running a marathon one.  

The "attitude of gratitude" one.  

Every day I intend to blog about something that happened that day for which I'm grateful.  We also intend to share this resolution as a family where we'll share our gratitude over dinner.  (Jimmy doesn't exactly know this plan yet but Mac and I agreed on it today.)

I think willfully acknowledging gratitude is a surefire way to see more positive in the world because you're constantly looking for it.  So here's to my attitude of gratitude in 2014. 

Happy New Year!

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here's to a great year of me being me and you being you!

A P.S. to Mac's Essay

I should've noted that in the heat of battle this afternoon, Mac noted that I was being so mean and unfair after he'd just written this nice essay about me this very day at school. He didn't say it, but I knew he was thinking he'd made a big mistake in choosing me as the subject of his essay.  

So after a lot screaming and carrying on and unbelievably dramatic histrionics, he finally calmed down and asked me if we could just forget the previous hour had ever happened. Then he hugged me and acted like nothing had ever happened.  We've had a perfect evening since.  

It was our own Christmas miracle right here on Nelson Street.

An essay Mac wrote at school today

(Before you read this, put yourself in my mindset at the time of my reading this.  Mac and I had just had a major - and I mean MAJOR - battle royale over my not agreeing to buy him a dog this very afternoon).

        Is your mom awesome like mine? Well I know that my mom is! She cooks for me, she plans everything I do to make it more joyful, and best of all she knows everything that my dad and I like. She is also super intelligent, knowing everything that she needs to know; like how long will she need to cook dinner or when George Washington was born. I like my mom very much and I bet you like your mom too. So if your mom is special to you in any way, then you should tell her that.

         My mom is special to me because she knows when I’m sad or mad or bored. Each time when I’m in a mood, she knows exactly which mood I’m in. Another reason that makes her special is that she cooks the most delightful foods! Like last night she made a delicious chicken pot pie, oh, the flavors were so magnificent. The savory flavors of chicken, peas and corn were amazing! She is also one of the most intelligent people I know, I love her her knowledge in science, math (especially math!), and social studies. Yet another reason that makes her special!

          My mom is kind of like a psychic, she knows what my dad and I want for dinner or knows what movie we want to see before we say it. Whenever my dad’s football game starts she knows immediately that she has to watch T.V. in her bedroom. When my dad is cooking dinner and he comes to do something with me, like play football or baseball she cooks the rest of the dinner so that my dad can finish doing the thing he’s doing with me. She also knows the answer to hard math problems when I need some help. It’s the same with science and grammar issues in my passport essays. This is why she is special to me. Because she knows what is going to happen before it actually happens. Just like a psychic.

         You know who my mom is like? My mom is like Albert Einstein. Her big brain is just jam-packed full of intelligence and facts. Whenever I an answer to a question that I have like “What was the death toll of Hurricane Katrina” and she’ll answer. If not she will research it and tell me the answer the next day. She is as smart as Stephen Hawking, one of the smartest people in the world! That is special to me because I can ask her questions from my curiosity.

         That is how awesome my mom really is. She knows how to cook, what I like and what I dislike, and even the answers to ridiculously confusing questions. She is my favorite mother in the galaxy, wait that can’t be right, she’s my favorite mother in the Universe.

Too bad I didn't use my super-psychic powers to know that going into a pet store would lead to a full and complete meltdown worthy of any 3 year-old's best performance.  At least I can console myself with my Stephen Hawking-like intelligence while I watch tv in my bedroom while I ponder being my only child's favorite mother.  Thankfully there weren't any other moms in the running today.