Fiona in January

Fiona in January

Friday, November 23, 2012

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Nov. 23 - Yesterday was Thanksgiving and an incredibly relaxing one at that!  My mother-in-law and I shared the dishes to be cooked and that kept both of us from being too overwhelmed.  We had an overwhelming amount of delicious food and a low-key afternoon/evening of enjoying each others company.  Not being able to travel to visit family that lived out of state, it was wonderful to be able to spend it with Aaron's parents and celebrate Baby Knives' first Thanksgiving at home.

She did beautifully, napping well all day and happily playing after enjoying her Thanksgiving "feast" of pureed carrots and mashed bananas...yum, right?  I'm extremely thankful for her cheery mood yesterday and the ease she had transitioning into napping at her grandparent's house!



I'm once again reminded how thankful I am for the family I have, the one I was born into, the one I've been fortunate enough to marry into and the one I've made for myself through friendships that have stood for years and will continue to grow for many more.

Oh, and I'm also thankful for stuffing.  It is by far my favorite part of Thanksgiving...if you'd like to check out the recipes I made this year, you can access them through my other blog: Tastymess


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Remembering to be Thankfkul

Nov. 21 - I realized this morning that I had forgotten to do a thankfulness post yesterday.  I woke up in a seriously grumpy mood and just couldn't shake off my "blah" mood...it's been kind of a crappy week in certain respects, amplified by the fact that Baby Knives has decided to start waking up at 3 or 4am wanting to eat again and that Aaron and I have both been sick.  Just woke up crabby and I was about halfway through feeding Baby Knives her mashed banana when I stopped and realized no matter how rough a week is, how tired we are and how much banana has been sneezed on me...I always have so much to be thankful for.

So I shook of most of my grumpiness, thanks in part to a call to my mom, baked up what promises to be a delicious Thanksgiving dessert and got down to work after putting a sleepy baby down for  her nap.  Here's to a better rest of the day!

Monday, November 19, 2012

The More I See The Less I Know

Nov. 19 - Today I am thankful for my faith.  I was blessed to grow up in a household with two parents who raised us with a strong belief system.  More importantly I was always encouraged to ask questions about what I believed and why I believed it.  As a result I have a strong foundation and a spiritual life I can cling to in good times and rough ones. 

So thank you to my parents, mentors, pastors and especially friends who have beliefs differing from my own...when you stop asking questions and discussing differences in beliefs you stop learning.  I actually have a tattoo speaking to that effect to remind myself that the older I get, the more I learn, the less I "know".  It's a daily reminder to keep an open mind while maintaining a strong spiritual foothold in my own core beliefs.


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Modern Medicine

Nov. 18 - Today I am thankful for immediate care centers and antibiotics...or at least I will be as soon as my husband gets back from leading worship at church and takes me there!  Yesterday I had a little head-cold congestion, but then it turned into a raging sinus infection last night.  Crazy pain and pressure, fever...all that good stuff.  So today I am thankful in anticipation of the relief I'm going to be able to get this afternoon from antibiotics.  Thank you Alexander Fleming!


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Secondhand Blessings

Nov. 17 - Today I am thankful for hand-me-downs.  Wow, if the little kid version of me could hear that she'd think I was nuts!  Seriously though, there's no way we could be clothing Baby Knives without the generosity of friends and family with their amazing secondhand clothes...not to mention strollers, carseats, cribs, pack n' plays, crib sheets, etc, etc.  Such a blessing and I intend to pass it onto my other friends who are having little ones soon!


Friday, November 16, 2012

A Roof

Nov. 16 - Today I am thankful, literally, for the roof over our heads.  When we first got married, Aaron had lost his job and we were living with his parents.  Ironically, the separate upstairs area we lived in is bigger than our apartment is now!  I loved living with them, we all got along so well and it was nice to have other people in the house when Aaron was working third shifts. 

Still, we planned for the day when he got a full time job again and we could move out into our own space.  That happened almost a year after we moved into the upstairs of his parent's house and we were able to move into our current 2 bedroom apartment.  I think my favorite thing about this place is that it has 1.5 bathrooms!

Of course when we moved we weren't expecting Baby Knives to appear on the scene as quickly as she did, but we've adapted and turned our guest room/library into her room/library.  Some days, I admit, I'm frustrated with the small space and would love more room...but then on days like today I am reminded to be thankful for our own little space, as cramped as it does feel sometimes!


Thursday, November 15, 2012

ZzzzZzzzz...

Nov. 15 - Today I am reminded how thankful I am for sleep.  Such a simple thing I took for granted until our daughter was born.  Now that she's a little older, she's sleeping much more predictably and that means more sleep for the grown-ups in her life - hooray!  As I'm typing this she's taking her morning snooze, which (today at least) has already lasted 2 hours.  Thank God for sleeping babies!


Fiona Knives Rohrer - 2 days old

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Firsts

Nov. 14 - Today I am thankful for firsts.  My 21-week-old daughter reminded me how wonderful they are this morning when she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time (that I saw).  As adults, so many of us remember our "firsts"...first day of school, first fight, first car, first kiss.  So many "firsts" that we forget how amazing they truly are.  Now that I have a daughter of my own I catch myself thinking about all of her firsts and how I'll be adding those memories to my own memories of my firsts.  Pretty amazing!

Check out the video below of the first time she rolled over from her tummy to her back for me!


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

For the Love of Chocolate

Nov. 13 - Today I am thankful for chocolate.  That's right, CHOCOLATE.  I've always loved chocolate since I was a kid and would sneak cookies from the jar and candy from my Christmas stocking after I had been told not to.  Who can resist the siren song of chocolate?  Even if it comes in the form of slightly stale hollow Santa Claus forms.

Now that I'm a little older I've branched out in my appreciation of chocolate.  My favorite by far is not only dark chocolate, but dark chocolate with sea salt...mmmmmmm...so thankful for chocolate!


Monday, November 12, 2012

Musically Delicious

Nov. 12 - Today I am thankful for music.  I come from a solid background of music, both from family and church.  Yes, I was one of those kids who stood up in front of church with her sisters and sang hymns...feels like a million years ago! 

As I got older I stopped doing that (and wearing the ridiculously big-collared dresses of the eighties) but did grow my love of music, going through a punk phase, grunge phase and yes, even a country phase (ugh - that one I wish I could forget!) before settling on just a general love of all things rock. 

I married a talented musician and hope our daughter inherits not only our love of music, but some of her dad's guitaring and vocal talent too!


Sunday, November 11, 2012

A Second Round of Thanks

Nov. 11 - Ok, I know I already said I was thankful for my friends, but I have to say it again - especially because some wonderful friends of ours came and visited yesterday from PA (where SO many of our friends live these days) and we hadn't seen them for a year.  It was so relaxing and fantastic to just spend time together, watching our kids play and catching up.  Lots of laughter of course...so thankful for them and wish (as always) that we lived closer!


















































Saturday, November 10, 2012

Oh Bananas...

 
Nov. 10 - This morning I am thankful for wipes.  Both disinfectant wipes and baby wipes.  Weird thing to be thankful for?  Not when you consider my morning began at about 5:30 feeding Baby Knives her rice cereal and adding mashed banana for the first time...which she liked right up until the second she stopped and puked banana mash all over herself and her high chair.  And, being a baby, of course she tried to smoosh her hands in it.

GROSS!

So I am thankful for wipes.  Baby wipes to quickly clean her up and disinfectant wipes to clean up the high chair.  Sigh...I have to say, it makes me somewhat reluctant to try bananas again with her!  (I am NOT thankful for bananas at the moment!)





Friday, November 9, 2012

Working

Nov. 9 - Today I'm thankful for my job.  I have such a uniquely perfect work situation - I get to work from home virtually so I can take care of Baby Knives and we don't have to worry about putting her in daycare and finding a way to pay for it.  Plus, my boss is fantastic and I really enjoy what I do.


Check out his website: http://johnmcclellan.net

Thursday, November 8, 2012

My Favorite Room

Nov. 8 - Today I am thankful for my kitchen.  It is teeny tiny and most of the time I really wish it was bigger, but I am still able to cook and bake to my heart's content in it.  I really got into cooking and baking when I moved back to MD in 2009.  I love being able to cook for my family and friends, not to mention it's really a way I can tangibly show them how much I care about them.  Nothing says, "I love you" like homemade brownies or cinnamon rolls!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Second Chances

Nov. 7 - Today I am reminded how incredibly thankful I am for second chances (and third, and fourth, etc.).  Nothing drives that point home than having a 20-week old and being a first-time mom!  Yesterday was a rough day with Baby Knives, she was fussy and napped horribly.  Ever since daylight savings she's been kind of all over the place, so I blame that!  But after every rough naptime, through her tears, she would smile at me when I got her out of her crib, as if to say, "It's ok Mom, we can try again next time!"



Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Friendship

Nov. 6 - I am so thankful for my friends.  Such a simple statement, but truly amazing when I stop and consider I have lifelong friends stretching from Indonesia to the UK to California, the Midwest, upper East Coast and right here in MD.  A few I met in high school and we are still close, many I met in college and still a treasured handful I've met more recently after moving back to MD.  I am so blessed to have such an amazing family of friends that I know I can call on anytime I need them.  Love you all!