Today I am giving thanks to a man who works hard and loves me unconditionally.  I give my husband thanks today. I don’t always express my feelings of gratitude for the things he does for me and my family. He truly is my rock.

I thank God every day for this man He sent to share in my life. Alan is a joy to have as a friend and husband. Being a wonderful father to our little boy and our baby squishy means so much to me.

I admire him for the person he has become.

I admire him for the patience he instills in me.

I am thankful for his witty personality.

I am thankful for his support and caring ways.

I am thankful for him.

_________________________

Check out the four weeks of the Thankful Challenge

Part 1

Part 2

 and Part 3

The post Thankful Challenge 2012- Part 4 appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

Today I have a guest post from Jenn, mom of one handsome boy. She is here to talk about what she is thankful for this Thanksgiving.

When Janelle asked me to write about what I was thankful for this year, my mind started reeling. It has been a big year for my family and I, mainly because my son and niece were born within 6 months of each other, so you can imagine, I have a lot to be thankful for.

           I decided to think about the one thing that would encompass it all and what I’ve come up with is that I am thankful for my new life as a mom. We’re all told that when you have a child it changes everything and I’m sure by now, we all know how true that is. There are so many people and opportunities that have come into my life since becoming a mom, that I had never imagined would have been a part of the change.
First of course is Ryan, my son, as I’m sure many of you can relate to.  Some people don’t believe me when I say this, but I love spending everyday with him.  It has been so much fun watching him experience new things, reach milestones and develop his own personality.  My favorite point in the day, is right before he falls asleep (and I know what you’re all thinking….it’s not because I’m thankful he’s finally going to sleep! Ok..maybe some days). As he finishes his bottle, he rolls himself over and cuddles for about a minute…before he decides he’s done and wants to stretch out in his crib.

Within six months of becoming a mom, I also became an aunt for the first time.  I’m so grateful to have my sister on the journey with me of becoming a new mom and I’m loving being aunt. It’s so much fun to watch the babies begin to interact with one another and think about how close they will be as they get older.

           The most unexpected change I would have to say was my relationships, both old and new.  All of my “old” relationships have changed as we all figured out our roles in my Ryan’s life.  I have so enjoyed watching everyone develop their own relationships with him and it has brought me closer to my husband and family members. Ryan absolutely loves my husband and another favorite point in my day is seeing his face light up as soon as his dad walks through the door. Being a mom has also allowed me to look at my childhood from a different perspective, and made me even more thankful for my parents and siblings.  The new relationships are all of the other moms I’ve met. I am so appreciative to have other people in similar situations to get advice from and vent to. I’ve meet a lot of moms through Baby Boot Camp and I hadn’t realized how important this would be as I started my journey as a mom. There was a point over the summer that Ryan and I were sick and then we went on vacation, so I had missed boot camp for about two weeks. I found that I not only missed the exercise, but I missed talking to everyone and having that connection with other moms.

In my “old” life, I was a teacher, so I struggled a little bit in losing that part of my identity. As I was trying to figure out what direction I wanted to go professionally, I had an opportunity arise that I had never even considered.  A local resource blog for moms was looking to bring a few more people in and when I reached out, it turned out that my teaching background could be utilized in editing and creating content. I have so enjoyed working with a new team and learning new things. It has also been nice to have a piece of my professional identity back, it’s just enough for me right now.  I have my projects and responsibilities to focus on but at the same time I get to stay home and have this time Ryan.

I feel like I’m just touching the surface of all that I’m thankful for this year and it’s been a little bit of a challenge to put all of this into words that do it justice…which I’m still not sure I did successfully…but I hope I was able to portray how deeply thankful I am for my new life as mom.

The post Thankful Challenge- Part 3 appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

If you’re just tuning, here is a recap of the Thankful Challenge. This challenge is all about being inspired to tell those how grateful we are to have them in our lives.  It created such a wonderful feeling last year that I am doing it again this year. Consider joining the Thankful Challenge.

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Look down? Lower. Look to the floor. Notice anything there? You may not. But I assure you there are a pair of feet that you are standing on. Those things I often take for granted. Do you ever think about your feet?

When we get up to grab our next meal, do you think, ” hey feet, its time to move”? Heck no you don’t.  We don’t think about them, we just do it.

Our feet are something we should all be thankful for. I certainly am. They take me places and bring me around every day.  They let us run, job, hop, drive a car, walk, skate, and enjoy life.

Today I am thankful for my feet.

They are not the most pretty of feet, but I do take care of them.

How would life change if you didn’t have feet?

________________

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The post Thankful Challenge- Day 2 appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

This year there is so much to be thankful for. This post is going to focus on the little things. I feel that we over look those little things. I get it, we are busy people in a very busy world. My son has taught me a few things in his short time being here on this earth. He has taught me to be THANKFUL for the LITTLE Things. The little things that go unnoticed and don’t drive a big recognition.  That is what I am thankful for today.

• The cat the purrs  just because you sat next to it.
• The light that is left on for me when I come home in the dark
• The smell and feeling of the first sip of a  glass of warm tea
• The man who holds the door for Calvin and I every day when we work out
• The way the sheets are always gather before bed time
• When Calvin shares his snacks with me

I wish for you too, to find joy and happiness in those little things that usually go unnoticed and be thankful for the joy that derives from them.

___________________________

Would you like to join in on the Thankful Challenge of 2012?

Here are the rules to the linky:

• When you are finished writing your post, I encourage you to link it up below so others can enjoy your thankfulness.

The post Be Thankful for the little things appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

Last year I was inspired to do a “be thankful this Thanksgiving Challenge”. It created such a wonderful feeling that I could do much more to share my gratitude, with those around me. Every year, the season would pass and I would wonder, “Did I tell those around me that I loved them? Did I tell them how grateful I was for them in my life?”

I realized that there is always a time to share your thankfulness with those around you and the things that bring you thankfulness. What better way to do it than to sit down,  and blog about your true sentiments?  Few things feel as wonderful as hearing that you are important and treasured by someone else.

I challenge you to do the same. Every Thursday in November, write or blog about someone or something that you are truly thankful for. I encourage those who don’t have a  blog to hand write a letter and send it off.

Thanks for challenges
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Thanks for difficult times
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Thanks for limitations
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

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Here are the rules to the linky:

• When you are finished writing your post, I encourage you to link it up below so others can enjoy your thankfulness.
• Grab the button and add it to your post or blog
• You can write a post for all 4 Thursdays, or just one. You pick.

The post Thankful Challenge 2012 appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

Don’t forget to leave a comment that will enter you in a 25$ give away at Melissa and Doug.

 I realized that there is always a time to share your thankfulness with those around you and the things that bring you thankfulness. What better way to do it than to sit down,  and blog about your true sentiments? And think of the lives it will touch? Few things feel as wonderful as hearing that you are important and treasured by someone else.

So I challenge you to do the following, right here on my blog (in the comment section) to write about the following:

This weeks Thankful for Thanksgiving Challenge I dedicate to you. Yup You. 

I thank you for reading.

I thank you for commenting.

I thank you for your support through the tough times.

I thank you for the advice.

I thank you for my spelling corrections.

I thank you for “sharing” my blog.

I thank you for voting for me on TOp mommy blog.

Mostly. I thank you for listening to me bitch.

This blog has truly been an inspiration for me and becoming domestically seasoned. 

Remember My inspiration for this blog: It all started when I was feeling kinda stressed about being domestic. Seriously who would have thought I would be married, have a baby boy, be staying at home and be loving it. So in order to keep my mind sane and feel important about the things I do, I thought I would share them with you. (This is way more cheaper then seeing a shrink!)

If you have been following my Thankful for thanksgiving, Thursday posts, you know to write a comment below on things, or people you are thankful for. This time I will draw a winner for a 25$ off at http://www.melissaanddoug.com/. Good through December 31st.

You can comment once with why you’re thankful.

You get another entry if you follow me on Facebook

You get another entry if you share my page with a friend and link it back to here.

Drawing will take place December 5th using a random generator and one person will be selected for the 25$ off.  Must leave a valid email. If winner doesn’t claim prize before the 7th of December another person will be selected.

The post Happy Thanksgiving appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

I ‘m thankful……………..

My body is one of those things that I’m not thankful for enough. It’s easy for me to complain that I don’t look exactly like I did before I had kids, or that the lack of sleep has started to age me more than I’d prefer. But if I stop to think about all of the things I ask of my body and how much it does for me, I consider myself lucky.

So maybe it’s time for me to start appreciating my body a little more. It might not be perfect, but it’s tough, and it’s helped me do so many things I never thought possible. When I think about it, I know I’m lucky. So in this season of giving thanks, I’m thankful for my mom body.

So I challenge you to do the following, right here on my blog (in the comment section) to write about the following:

The post Thankful Thursday Challenge appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

So I challenge you to do the following, right here on my blog (in the comment section) to write about the following:

Everybody has a best friend. Mine, happens to be the last person who I would actually have talked to  during my middle school days. And ever since our first sleepover, she has become an indispensable part of my life. This is why I feel moved to write a thank you letter to her, to let her know how much I appreciate and love having her in my life.

The post Thankful Thursday Challenge appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.

 I realized that there is always a time to share your thankfulness with those around you and the things that bring you thankfulness. What better way to do it than to sit down,  and blog about your true sentiments? And think of the lives it will touch? Few things feel as wonderful as hearing that you are important and treasured by someone else.

So I challenge you to do the following, right here on my blog (in the comment section) to write about the following:

Thanks for challenges
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Thanks for difficult times
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Thanks for limitations
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

The post Be thankful this Thanksgiving Challenge appeared first on Domestically Seasoned.