Thankful Thursday

After two weeks that just dragged by, this one seems to be flying by and Thursday just caught me by surprise!  In reflecting on what I am thankful for this week, there are a few events that stand out and make this list today:

• Ken seems to have discovered a love of cooking!  We have been making menus plans and with both of us having more regular schedules that in the past, it works out that he makes dinner two nights a week, I cook two nights, and then we have leftovers or cook together the other nights.  I think the one chore I have always hated about cooking is figuring out what to make.  If we sit down once a week and plan out a menu, though, we overcome that obstacle together.  Once we know what to cook, the rest seems easy, and Ken has really taken to making delicious meals for us! He also puts much more effort into cooking than I do. Usually I focus on the meat dish and then make a few plain sides. He like to saute the vegetables with butter and seasonings.  YUM!  He also likes to peruse the web for interesting recipes, where I have a few tried and true that I stick with.  Not only is Ken's cooking easing my load, but it is delicious and healthy for our family as well.  He made this the other night and it was amazing!!
• Frances has been such a hoot this week! After a truly awful day (and night) on Sunday, I woke the kids Monday morning that it was "a new day and a new week and all that mess from yesterday isn't going to happen again!" I think all three of the kids took that to heart. Henry worked really hard to help me make breakfast two mornings this week.  Frances has been helpful around the house and even done extra chores without complaining.  She has been helping (in a round-about way) me get Benjamin ready for school in the morning.  He has been really cranky in the mornings and not wanting to get out of his crib. Since I have started sending Frances in to get him dressed, I have had an easier time.  Mainly because he refuses to let Frances help him.  She'll get as far as getting his pajamas and diaper off of him, but then he starts crying and yelling and wriggling away from her.  When I come in to take over, he seems so glad to be rescued that he is completely calm and agreeable when I get him dressed. Frances also loves to celebrate things. Any day that has a special name on the calendar is one she wants to celebrate.  Last night she celebrated Ground Hog Day by giving me a special hairstyle.  One side is up to represent the groundhog coming out of his burrow.  The other side is down to represent his shadow.

• A new year.  Is it too late to be thankful for a new year?  It's only the 2nd day of February!!  I figure I am getting around to posting my resolutions around the time most other people are giving up on theirs!!  This year I am (again) vowing to get my house clean.  I go home for my lunch break and unload and re-load the dishwasher. I also send clothes through the laundry cycle: dirties in the washer, cleans in the dryer, dry load gets folded and then kids put it away in the evening.  After all that I still have time to eat lunch and watch an episode of The Match Game (love that show!!) I am also trying to get in shape. Taking a desk job has its drawbacks in the amount of movement I do every day.  I have to be more purposeful about what I eat and when I exercise in order to ensure that all my nice new clothes that I bought will still fit me!!