Thankful Thursday - 252

This week I am thankful for....

1. The handsomest fluff. I don't often mention Sherlock on the blog, but he really is such a huge part of our family. Every day he's there to help us wake up the kids, tuck them in at night, stare at them while they eat their food, sleep through their wild shenanigans, dance his happy feet before we feed him or take him for a walk, bark and howl and tap-dance in his sleep, expel his tufts of fur all over the house, sleep on our bed with us (I don't know how we became those people, but it happened), squint at us when we first turn the light on in the morning (we have called him Squints since he was a puppy for this reason), and bring us the ball every night as we try to sit down an relax on the couch. He's such a good dog. We get stopped every single time we take him outside - people asking what he is, how old he is, how he's so soft, where we got him, how we trained him to walk so well on the leash, etc. Answer to the last part... treats in my pocket, haha! He is so gentle and patient with the kids. We have never put him in situations intentionally just to "test" his patience, but he seeks them out to hang out with them (his favorite spot is hiding under Dom's bunk bed when Dom goes in there for quiet time). 

2. Enneagram fun. We did the tests at work, and I have pestered most of the people in my life now to do the test too to find out what their enneagram number is! I am a 1 with a 9 wing, and David is a 4 with a 5 wing. If you ever decide to read through those two, you will see that they are polar opposites - yes... this makes sense. While we do balance each other out sometimes, there are other times where we just don't understand each other! Learning about our enneagrams has helped SO much in communication and understanding. I truly think every couple in a long term relationship should do this - especially if you seem to be very different! 

I am learning how to support Dave in his business and artistic pursuits. Realizing he's not just reaching for the stars, but this is really how his brain works. We process feelings and situations very differently, so I have to be careful about my analytical, objective responses to things he says or ideas he has. Work in progress!

3. Sunny cold snap. I don't love the cold... you all know I'm a "fair-weather mom". HOWEVER, I do love the sunshine, and in the winter a cold snap usually means sunshine, so I'll take it! I'm curious to see if we will get snow this weekend after our last "snowfall warning" bust. 

It wasn't sunny yet this day, but it WAS cold!

4. Bubbled up. I have been hesitating to post this, but I finally realized it is based purely on a fear of what others might think of me. Scott and Ashleigh agreed a couple weeks ago to bubble up with us again and reform the Quaran-team. The kids see Aunty Ashleigh at preschool anyway during the week, and then we see them usually once on the weekends. It has been really nice to have our besties around more, and also to share the last few weeks of our pregnancies together! Scott sent me a recipe for sourdough pizza dough last week, so we made some pizzas on Friday for dinner. Sooooo delicious! Proscuitto pizzas and pierogie pizzas. And the dough all turned out amazing. 

First pizza of many made that night. A pizza stone is going on my next Christmas list for sure!

Unrelated, but I am also still making sourdough - usually just once a week. 

And semi-unrelated, but I mentioned pregnancy haha. Here's a belly shot from this week. This shirt is not a maternity shirt, yet it still fits me better than many of my maternity shirts. Figure that one out. 

5. Baby Shower. Speaking of pregnancies, we had a combined Zoom baby shower for Ashleigh and Aly on Saturday, hosted by my Mom. I cannot WAIT to welcome all these babies in a month! And I am so grateful there's another month before I'm due so that I can hopefully have some time to meet these new littles before my focus is pulled to my own. 

6. Lazy entertainment. I love it when my laziness actually pays off and appears to be something "special" for the kids. One night this week we didn't feel like parenting, so we all went down to the theatre and watched the Lego Movie. Then for two days this week the landscapers were dumping and distributing soil throughout the complex, so you KNOW many hours (minutes?) were spent at windows watching soil (don't you dare call it dirt - you will be corrected by Dominic who knows this because he is "too smart for you"). The other night I was not feeling motivated for dinner so it was sort of a free for all. Dave had eggs, I had leftover soup, and I cut up veggies, fruit, cheese, meat and crackers for the kids and made them a "picnic". This was really just them sitting at the little table in the living room with a muffin tin while Dave and I sat at the island and again, didn't parent. 

"Dom, smile!"... 4 year olds. haha

Dom has now requested we do a snack version of this as well. I mean... this basically is a snack, but alright? Just call it a picnic and it's special! Haha. Also, they ate more fruits and veggies than they would have if I had made a real dinner for certain. 

7. David pursuing his passion. Dave is starting to realize his ultimate passion/dream job is doing video of cars. He's done a few shoots here and there with friends and family, but has put himself out there in real life and has already done two shoots for people he's just bumped into or connected with on instagram. There are more people he's connected with and they're working on lining up future shoots. It's interesting when someone pursues their passion things sort of just seem to happen. We'll see what the next few years bring! This is totally a side-gig right now, but super fun for him. Cars are not my thing at all, but it brings him (and Dom) lots of joy haha. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usou_TLHmeI&ab_channel=DavidKimber