Thankful Thursday - 283

I've held up my "resolution" of not apologizing for taking time for myself, and it feels great. I am getting better at delegating at home instead of resenting other peoples' ability to rest. I am also still working out and am almost finished week 2 of the barre blend program! I'm stronger than I expected which is encouraging for me. 

This week I am thankful for...

1. Having our boosters & Dom's first vaccine booked! Hopefully this will take some of the anxiety away around getting sick. I am positive we'll get it at some point, but at least this may lessen the impact, and make me less nervous about the kids being in school and being exposed to all those different groups. 

2. A new book to read. Mom got us girls this Brene Brown book, "Atlas of the Heart". I finally set aside some time to start it this week and it's been awesome. It's given me vocabulary and validation for the way I've been feeling - overwhelmed. My plan is to read every morning before the kids get up. I typically watch the news during that time, but I noticed my mental health was too affected by the news, so I'm taking a little break. I like to be and feel informed, but a check in on the radio once per day is maybe healthier than consuming an hour of doomsday news every morning. 

We played Salad Bowl at our family Christmas in December and one of the things Jeff put in was "Atlas of the Fart" after us girls all got this book. Now it's all I can think of when I read the title of this book haha. 

3. Hand me downs. I love putting the girls in Dom's old clothes. This week I got Eva in Dom's Star Wars long sleeve and I love it. 

Dom just a little bit older than Eva :) 

Can definitely tell they're siblings!

4. Date Night. Mom watched the kids over dinner hour yesterday and put them to bed for us. We went to Cactus for dinner (of course), then to Homesense (of course), and then to Camp Beer Co. (of course). Very typical Renee and Dave date night, and that's how I like it haha! 

5. Being back in the office. I was out of the office for work for about a month between illness and the Christmas holidays. I was back in yesterday and I felt the whole house breathe a sigh of relief. I was in a better place because I had a break, the kids were in a better place because they missed me while I was gone, and Dave was in a better place because it was a change of scenery/responsibility for him too. It is so essential for my mental health!

6. The dimple. Eva has a single dimple in her left cheek. Right when she was born they threw her on my chest, I discovered she was a girl, and then the midwife commented on her dimple. I love it <3

Visited Phoebe and Aunty Ashleigh while the big kids were at preschool today!

Also check out her hair. It's starting to get longer and fluffier on the sides :)

7. Something to look forward to! Speaking of my mental health, I requested and (thanks to Dave's parents' time share) booked a 2 night Mommy vacation for one! The Rosedale on Robson is where I will be staying next weekend and I CANNOT wait! I have lots of things on my agenda like... doing a puzzle, reading a book, doing the Europe blog I've been meaning to do for years and years, watching my shows, eating when/what I want, and possibly going 24 hours without saying a single word. Man, 14 year old Renee would have thought I was so lame. 30 year old Renee thinks this is amazing. 

Maybe we'll consider trying to have Dave stay one night with me, or maybe I'll just do both on my own haha. Thank you Dave for being so understanding! <3

This pretty much embodies Emilia. She is her own person. She is so girly, yet refuses to let me do her hair, refuses to wear clothes, and has so much attitude. We just gave up at dinner tonight haha. She wins.

A couple more pictures...

Got to play bass at church on Sunday.

There has been so little sunshine lately, so soaked it up while I could!

At least there's always this ray of sunshine!