Thankful

I'm not gonna lie. The last few days have been rough. I haven't been feeling well. My allergy and sinus troubles are back again. Let me just say, I do NOT love pollen. I know it's necessary, but pollen and I just don't get along. Unfortunately, the pollen count here has been very high, so I haven't really been feeling my best. On top of that, Will is getting some of his molars, and they are really bothering him. We've been so blessed in the area of teething and really haven't had much trouble...until now. The poor guy is having a hard time eating, drinking, and sleeping, which makes him really cranky. Which makes me really cranky.

All that to say, I haven't been in the best mood for a few days. I've been cranky, irritable, frustrated, discouraged, angry, and just plain tired. I've shed tears of anger and frustration. I've screamed and yelled. I've gone to my bedroom and just buried my face in my pillow because I didn't know what else to do. Last night, before I went to bed, I really thought over the past few days, and I realized something. They were over, and I had to let them be over. The more I carried the previous bad day into the next, the more things piled up, and the worse things got. So, I said a very long prayer, asking God for forgiveness, for a new attitude, for a new perspective, and for a fresh start. I told myself: Tomorrow's a new day. You can choose to be miserable, or you can choose have a better day.

So, that's what I'm doing. I'm choosing a better day. Because the bad days are no fun. Because I have so much to be thankful for. Because my situation could be so much worse. Because I whine and complain about things that other people would be blessed to have in their lives.

I know I'm allowed to have a bad day. Everyone has bad days. I think it's ok to be unhappy and even miserable sometimes. Our feelings and frustrations are real. We shouldn't deny that they exist and pretend that our lives are perfect and that everything is ok. But we shouldn't dwell there, either. We can get stuck in a rut and bad day gets piled on top of bad day. Bad moods become the norm. This doesn't just affect us, it affects everyone around us. I don't know about you, but I don't like to be around people who are constantly in a bad mood, so I certainly don't want to be one of those people!

Today, I am thankful. Thankful for a fresh start. Thankful that despite minor allergy problems, I am very healthy. Thankful that despite some painful teething problems, I have a very happy, healthy little boy. Thankful for a husband who has put up with my bad attitude over the past few days. Thankful for friends who encourage me in the midst of my frustration. Thankful for a mom I can call and talk to and cry to anytime I want. Thankful for a loving, supportive family. Thankful for having more than I need. Thankful for a God who loves, comforts, forgives, and restores.

Today is going to be a good day.

15 Months

Will is 15 months old! Just like every other month, I can't believe it. One of these days I'll start believing that my child ages like all other human beings, but for now, I'm still in denial. Each month, I'm shocked that he's already another month older.

I was looking back over some of my "Will posts," and I feel like they're getting a little boring. They're pretty much the same stuff each month, so I thought I would change it up a little bit. Instead of sharing all of his "stats," I just want to share some of my favorite Will stories from the past month. He is a funny little guy and does things every day that just crack me up (and disgust me all at the same time). I also conveniently forgot to mention his temper tantrums last month. I honestly don't know how they slipped my mind. I think I subconsciously block them out, so I can remember what a sweet little boy he is when he's not screaming at the top of his lungs and throwing himself on the floor in a public place. Thankfully (insert sarcasm here), they didn't go anywhere, so I still have plenty of time to write about them.

- I'll go ahead and give the stats just so I'll remember them. He is 20 lbs. 6 oz. (5%) and 31 1/2 inches long (50%). Needless to say, he's long and lean, and it's quite a challenge to find pants that fit!

- We had 2 very public temper tantrums and several not-so-public ones. I'm not going to go into all the details right now because I have a post solely dedicated to them coming up soon. Let's just say, I've apologized to my parents more than once now for ever throwing a temper tantrum in public. I know this is something a lot of toddlers go through, but it is definitely not a fun part of parenting.

- On a happier note, we went to Kansas to visit Theron's family, and Will got to sit on a real tractor for the very first time. Theron said as soon as he saw it, he said, Tractor! Tractor! He loves to drive his toy tractors around, so I'm sure getting to sit on a real tractor was so awesome for him.

- One day, I heard shrieking coming from our guest bathroom. I walked in to see what was wrong, and all I saw were Will's legs sticking straight up in the air kicking furiously. The top half of his body was in the bathtub, reaching for a toy he had dropped in there. I did go help him out, but I had a really good laugh first.

- That same day, he was walking around with an empty wrapper. He loves Arbonne fit chews (they're like candy to him), and when he finishes them, he likes to lick the wrapper. I can't say I blame him. So, he's walking around licking the wrapper, and I notice it's getting very wet and looking pretty disgusting. I said, "Will, that looks yucky. Will you go put it in the trash?" He walked off, and I followed him to see if he was actually going to put it in the trash can. Nope. He went straight to the bathroom, dropped it in the toilet, got it back out, and stuck it back in his mouth. No wonder it had gotten so wet and nasty looking.

- He always makes me feel so good about my cooking and the food I feed him because when he eats, he always says, "Mmmmmm....mmmmmmm," or "Yummmmm." A few days ago, I was humbled. I heard him in the living room, saying, "mmmmmm....mmmmmm." I knew he had been playing in my purse, so I thought...oh no, he's probably eating my lip gloss or something like that. I walked in there to see what was so delicious, and there he was, sucking on a tampon. Thankfully (I guess), the wrapper was still on. Now, I've never tasted one, but I can't imagine it tasted that good. Apparently, my cooking might not be as good as I thought.

- Almost every day at lunch we watch Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Will gets so excited for people when they get a question right. He claps his hands and looks so happy and proud. What's really funny, though, is when they get the question wrong. He always says a very dramatic, "Oh, noooo!"

He is so much fun and really does have such a sweet personality. Sometimes, I feel like I talk to other people about his temper tantrums and his orneriness way more than I talk about what a sweet, funny little boy he is. I'm trying to be better about this.

No matter what, I tell him how much I love him and what a good, sweet boy he is every single day. Even when he throws fits, even when tests my patience, even when he chews on paper out of the toilet.  I love him so much, and nothing could ever change that!