Today was relatively uneventful up until the 11th hour. I worked while the little one played and just made a mess and had fun.

When his brother came home, he was feeling mischievous.

Gave him a lot of hugs.

And his brother was just as into it.

They played and laughed and then David and I read our book. Then he worked on his workbook. He’s in the math section, now.

here he is giving me the “ugh don’t want a photo now” look.

and then this super-weird look.

and finally a smile.

I wanted to capture the little one too but he got mad when I moved him toward the light.

And he still watched his movie anyway.

Alas, now there’s some last minute work at work. It’s been an interesting few weeks to say the least. But the weekend is almost here and I plan to relax. I’ve been thinking a lot about motivation and about what motivates me. Some days I get so much done and others I barely want to move from the couch. And inertia is so powerful so I am trying to dig a bit deeper here and see what’s making me poutier and less productive than usual.

I go back and forth between telling myself to just rest and not stress and telling myself to just get productive and the inertia will stop. Who knows which one is right…

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a mostly-quiet day.
2. I am grateful for support and kindness at work. I work with some great people.
3. I am grateful for the few hours of quiet time I have at night. Knowing my kids are well and in bed and the day is almost over but not just yet.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I touched sea life today (he had a scientist come to school with some fun sea animals and plants). {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I got play with my legos a bit at bedtime.
3. I am grateful that my wii day is coming.
4. I am grateful for nathaniel and daddy and mommy.

I am still tired and whiny and unmotivated. But I finally decided to nip it in the bud. So I am going to write quickly today and go back to working hard so I can finish some nagging tasks. Today was relatively uneventful. The little boy played and I worked.

We went to get the big boy who had a nose bleed (from picking his nose!)

We read our book and the little one played and made a huge mess.

And here’s a much better looking big boy.

I exercised, I went to the TMJ doctor, I worked, I whined, I sat around trying to get myself motivated and I failed. I journaled and then I gave myself one more push. Some days are just like that. Going nowhere. It is what it is I suppose. Not fun but just part of life. Thank you for the feedback on the class. If you haven’t done so, feel free to still give feedback a few posts below this one. I am still thinking about it. But if I do it, it will be completely different than other courses. the point is not for you to have downloadables and for me to help you form a habit or to make pages about it. The goal will be to set a goal and achieve it. With hard work 🙂 and a bunch of other tools I hope to lay out. Let’s see if I can put it together and get organized a bit. More soon.

Sorry for the super short update today. More tomorrow.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a quick minute to sketch. Even if it’s not my favorite, I still did it.
2. I am grateful for my husband who made sure I was completely not disturbed as I worked really hard for an hour straight.
3. I am grateful for spring. I love to hear the birds chirping. It always always always makes me smile.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I did my workbook. {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I got a new game for the phone.
3. I am grateful that I sat with Alec on the bus.

We had a lot of fun with friends last night playing a game that one of my co-workers designed. It was called Startup Fever and it turned out to be super-fun. But it meant we played until late (for me) and I didn’t get a lot of sleep. I still tried to workout and got weighed and did my sketch and then got to work. After we picked up David, I wanted to keep Nathaniel entertained while we read and he was so sad not to watch Thomas on the big screen, so I put a new one on his ipod. And he was super happy.

I also snapped some shots of David. I particularly like this one but I am not even sure why.

He laughed and told me stories as always.

I love him so much.

Nathaniel, in the meantime, made a huge mess, too.

And when I told him no, all I got was this smile. Who can resist that?

I am going to take a quick break and grab some food with my family. It’s really nice here and I didn’t have lunch so I figure it’s ok. And then some time to do art and some planning and maybe even a layout.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for my boys. They make me so deeply happy.
2. I am grateful for a quick break i hope to take with my family.
3. I am grateful for no plans tonight. I am hoping and planning to go to bed early and get some of that rest I need deeply.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I played connect four by myself. {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I played Indiana Jones with Julian.
3. I am grateful that I drew and colored a map at school.

Well here’s Monday. Not at bad day but a longish one. I woke up and was obsessed with the news of course. I couldn’t sleep all night and I was so so thankful. I was in New York during September 11. Working on Wall Street and so was Jake. Either of us could have been killed. We were both extremely lucky. And I am deeply thankful for today. I know this is not the end but it’s such a big milestone.

So I had CNN on pretty much all day while I worked and the little boy played.

And lined up his cars.

Here’s me yelling “Nathaniel” and getting a “What?” look back. A blurry one apparently.

And then he plays again. Love the way he’s sitting.

I try to get his attention again and still blurry.

Then he naps. Then we go get David. And he is so so sweet.

I adore him.

And here we get the little one to laugh, too!

We did our reading, I sketched, he did his workbook, I worked, Jake came, they ate dinner, etc. Life. And now they are getting ready for bed and we will have friends come over tonight for games. Lovely, simple, lucky life. I am thankful today. For every breath I get to take. For every minute I have with my boys, with my parents, with my sister, with my husband. I am very lucky.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for the closure that comes today. At least in some form.
2. I am grateful that I still made the time to sketch. Even if a small one because today was too hectic.
3. I am grateful I did a layout last night. It had been a while since I scrapped and I really enjoyed the process so much.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I did my sharing at school of my sticker book. {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I shared stickers with some of my friends.
3. I am grateful that I will take a lego class this summer.

Happy May! Ours was relatively quiet. We got up and then I exercised. Now that it’s May, I am up to 3.0 miles a day. It was a bit hard but I did it anyway. Then I showered and it was time for family photos. Lately the portraits have been harder and harder to get.

There’s the refusal from the little one and the funny faces from the big one.

The fight over the remote.

Looking anywhere but the camera.

But alas I still love taking them anyway. I love having these photos so much even if they are all taken at the same spot in our house. I love love love them. Then we went out to exchange some things and pickup other things. When we came home, we rested a bit and David watched Sound of Music. Not sure why he looks sad here or maybe just focused.

Then David and I read our new book while the little one played.

And played.

After David was done, they played and played and hugged so much.

And then it was time for game night.

We played and David won. And then David and Jake played connect four so I could process my photos. Now they’re both asleep and I hope to backup my stuff, do my leg lifts, art journal, read and relax. Tomorrow starts another stressful week.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for game night. I love game night.
2. I am grateful that I am still sketching. So far so good.
3. I am grateful for a quiet and peaceful day.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I got a star wars lego sticker book. {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we had family night.
3. I am grateful that I played connect four with daddy.