Happy weekend everyone!

If you are like many people in Ontario, you are thankful to have made it to the end of a “short” work week given you had the chance to celebrate Family Day this past Monday with a day off work.

Unfortunately, I’m not included in that lucky club.  As a federal employee, I still went to work.  On the upside, there was no traffic.

But this post is not for complaining about being one of the few excluded from a provincial holiday, but rather about being thankful for the good.

All that to say, I’m here, nurturing my attitude of gratitude with Lizzi and the gang for the weekly Ten Things of Thankful Blog Hop.

Here goes:

Number 10

I’m thankful for my husband, who while also a federal employee, managed to get the day off work so he could stay home with our kids on Monday given both school and daycare were closed.  I’m thankful that he was happy to do so and planned a full day of activities for them with a friend.  They all enjoyed a fun outing to the Museum of Science and Technology.

Number 9

I was thankful for a few things at the gym this morning.  1) Bumping into one of my former instructors who told me those three sweet words every woman loves to hear: “You’re so skinny!” 2) Getting a parking spot near the door despite there being a special event and 3) That the special event in question was Bust a Move from Breast Cancer, which basically involves a bunch of adults dressing up in pink and tutus and feather boas and loud colours and dancing about.  It’s like my 4-year-old had found her tribe.

Number 8

I am thankful that I didn’t sign my 4-year-old up for this session of swimming lessons.  We’d been doing them on Saturday mornings, so between first going to the gym and then getting to lessons in time, the morning was feeling a bit rushed.  Now on Saturdays we sleep in a bit, then lounge around the house a while before heading to the gym.  I also then manage to get a longer workout in which is nice.  And they have a blast in the playcare while I work out and everyone’s happy.  As for swimming?  I’m still taking my girls to open swim twice a week.  I figure, given I use to teach, and given she’s now been stuck in “Salamander” for three sessions given she won’t yet swim on her back, this is likely a better use of time and money for now.  And really, there’s no rush to get through levels.  She already swims on her front and I have no doubt she’ll swim on her back when she’s ready.  Until then?  I don’t think more lessons are really going to make that much difference.

Number 7

I’m thankful that even though I didn’t get Monday off this week, I did get to take Thursday off to catch up on life stuff and run errands.  And it was nice to get out of the office and experience the city as, apparently, whole loads of people do, during daytime weekday hours.

Number 6

I was thankful for La Semaine Carnival! at my 4-year-old daughter’s (French) school this week and all the fun extra activities the school and teachers organized for the kids.  They had a special trip out to a farm and went sliding and she had a blast.  She also got to “dress crazy” for school one day.  She decided on purple princess pyjama pants, green polka-dotted shirt on backwards, black Mary Janes, three pig-tails and a faux suede brown spotted cowboy hat.  It was fun seeing what a four-year-old does when allowed to dress herself and told to be creative.  She had a blast, and – as an observation – I think she would have fit in perfectly in that outfit this morning at Bust a Move.

Number 5

I was thankful for a fun evening out on Tuesday with friends.  It’s nice to unwind, catch up and just relax and have a few pints.

Number 4

In true Canadian fashion, I am thankful for hockey.  I am doubly thankful for Olympic hockey and Friday afternoon’s match between the US and Canada.  My main thankful here isn’t that we won (which rocks), but that I THINK it was responsible for my afternoon meeting getting cancelled….  Apparently the world really does stop for hockey.  Go Canada Go!

Number 3

I’m happy for three pretty cool milestones met this week by my 4-year-old.  She can now do up her own jacket and open the car door (and so is able to get out on her own).  All the Olympic coverage is also apparently having an impact because as we were coming out of the gym this morning she was recognizably trying to sing O Canada (in French).

Number 2

I’m thankful for Netflix and for Season Two of House of Cards, which I am almost through….  LOVE it.

Number 1

I’m now officially thankful for Selena Gomez’ version of “Cruella De Vil”.  In addition to Barbie Thumbelina and Barbie Fashion Tale I managed to convince my girls to rent Disney’s 101 Dalmatians this week and we watched it last night.  They liked it well enough – you know, in that polite way kids watch something once they work out that it seems to really matter to their parents for some reason.  That said, we’d made it to the end, and then after the closing credits on came this little ditty recorded by Ms. Gomez in the days before she loved you like a love song.  Well!  Forget the rest of the movie!  This is 4-year-old and 18-month-old girly GOLD.  It started playing and my 4-year-old perked right up on the couch, turned to me and said: “Mommy, hold my bunny!”  threw her stuffy at me, propelled herself from the couch and started dancing.  My 18-month-old followed suit.  We must have played and danced to it about nine times before I finally convinced them it was time for bed.  But we had a blast.  And we’ve all been singing it on repeat ever since.

So that’s what’s been happening in our world this week.  Until next time!