Gratitude - lessons learned from a 5 year old

This morning Cooper came downstairs and announced that today was "Thank-you day" and as I braced myself for his obvious gratitude toward his parents he proceeded to thank his stuffed animals for being such awesome toys. Ouch! But once I got over this minor sting I got to thinking: A) how adorable and B) perhaps Cooper is already missing the structure of school (theme-days are BIG on the Kindergarten circuit!)

Through-out the day I've gone back to my little moment with Cooper and upon further reflection I think it's a wonderful reminder to be grateful for the things that we have in our life - big and small.  Cooper was grateful for the toys that he has - I am grateful for the amazing kids and husband that I have.  2 healthy kids that are funny and sweet - it's like winning the lottery twice!

All this gratefulness makes me think about one of my favourite blogs - 1000 Awesome Things - where the author basically blogs about the mundane and everyday things that can be really awesome - "free refills at a restaurant" or "finding money in your old coat pocket".

I'm very grateful for Sunday morning snuggles with these 2 cuties!

Lately I've been feeling more like I'm losing at the battle for work/life balance.  Like a lot of working mom's - or mom's in general - I'm spread so thin that I end up feeling like I'm not doing anything really well.  Cooper's announcement this morning was a gift - it reminded me to be grateful for the life I have and showed me that I must be doing something right - he could have made today "naked dancing day" or "junk food day" or even "TV marathon day" but he didn't and for that I'm grateful.

Time-out for Mommy

I'm a big supporter of the "time-out" approach to discipline.  When things are going off the rails - food is being thrown around, someone has bit the dog, or written on the wall in permanent marker - I think we all stand to benefit from a little breathing space.  Sends a message to the kids and gives Mommy a moment to calm down as well.

The other day I put my 18 month old in time-out.  Is she too young? Perhaps.  Did she know she wasn't supposed to throw her (full) dinner plate on the floor? Most definitely.  So off she went to the time-out chair.  She kicked, she screamed, she squirmed all the way to the ground so that only her little pig-tails were resting on the seat of the chair.  It was such a ruckus that Cooper and Peter both exited to the front porch to eat their dinner.  I didn't care, I had a message to send - and I believe she got it.

To be honest I don't know what the big deal is anyway.  I would love it if from time to time I was forced to sit in a chair and nobody was allowed to talk to me.  Sounds amazing.  And since time-outs correspond to your age I guess that means that my next time-out will clock in at 39 minutes.  Divine.  Maybe tomorrow night I'll throw my plate on the floor and bite the dog and see where that lands me.

I wonder what it would take to get sent to my room!