With life roaring along at its chaotic pace, I missed Lizzi’s Ten Things of Thankful Blog Hop last weekend.

But I figure, it’s when life is racing along, and you’re working like crazy to make it all, well, work, that it’s most important to try to focus on the good and the things to give thanks for.

So here’s the happy hop:

And here’s my list:

Number 10

I’m thankful for my husband.  He doesn’t feature on this blog half as much as he should.  My past two months at work have been busy and he’s stepped it up on the home front to help out.  For the last week he did daycare pick up so I could work late and get everything done there that needed doing.  He also cooks a mean Quiche.

Number 9

I’m thankful for coworkers who keep it light even when we’re all busy.  And I’m thankful for this picture.

I’d source it, but it’s all over the web and I’m not super clear on the source.  I first discovered it about 10 years ago when I was in grad school and made it my computer wall paper for a bit because it just makes me smile.

I hadn’t thought about bunny in years, until I was walking through the cubicle jungle at work and there he was!  Up on one of my colleague’s walls.  I now have to fight the urge to stop and pet his little pancake topped head every time I walk by.

Number 8

I’m thankful for the WordPress Blogging 201: Branding and Growth Challenge that I’m participating in.  It finally got me to play around with and figure out PicMonkey; and THAT then gave me (what I think is) a clever way that works with my blog feel to link to my Tumblr and other social media accounts.  Do check out my new buttons along the side of my blog.  It also pushed me to take a moment to understand my analytics and do a Best of Baby Gates Down Page, which I’d been meaning to do for a while.  Again, I’d love it if you checked it out and let me know what you thought.

Lastly, one of the main challenges within the challenge that I really latched on to was about broadcasting your brand.  The challenge was to pick one social network you’ll use to help grow your blog and connect it to your site in at least one way. 

I chose my somewhat neglected Pinterest account.  In my quest to suddenly make a bunch of dolly themed buttons, I started an online doll collection (let me just say I’m rather in awe of the Internet rabbit hole that is doll boards out there).  But the challenge also got me thinking about creating other boards that tie in to what I blog about.

So, that said, I’m starting a thankful board where I can pin things throughout the week that remind me to be thankful and that I am thankful for.  My current plan is that I can then reference, or pull on it for these posts – as well as sustain the positive feelings that reminding myself to be thankful gives me.

While it’s still in its infancy, please have a gander:

Number 7

Speaking of Pinterest board and blog integration, I’m thankful for Alphabet Bingo.

My eldest has been struggling with some of the skills they are learning in kindergarten.  The list, according to the teacher, who keep sending home “proof” of my daughter’s shortcomings as compared to the curriculum, is quite long and we’ve been encouraged to step up our home game.

Because this is a post unto itself, all I’ll say further here is that while I fight the urge to remind her teacher that my daughter is just four, I do acknowledge she’s behind the other kids in certain ways.  Case in point:  She doesn’t yet recognize the alphabet; or really associate numbers with groups of things; and her fine motor skills really aren’t where they should be – so cutting and writing letters is a challenge.

So yesterday we took a trip out to Scholar’s Choice and together we selected some toys and games to help beef up her “A Game” – so to speak.

And we came home and played Alphabet Bingo twice.  She loved it.  I figure we’ll play this puppy into the ground over the next little while and see if that helps out on the letter recognition front.  We have some other goodies for other things, but I don’t want to overwhelm, and I figure we’ll pick one battle to start with.

Number 6

Speaking of scholastic achievements I’m thankful I got a certificate at work!

Yup!  They did a security sweep and here’s the proof that I properly protect secret documents.   This is quite a serious aspect of my job, and I have not a little bit of paranoia at times over whether I’ve put everything away as I should in my locked cabinet.  Enough that I have double and triple checked in the past.   So this is now proudly pinned up on my cubicle wall.  You know, in a place of honour.  Beside my kids in their Halloween costumes.  And my phone list.

Number 5

I’m thankful for nights out swimming with my girls and my mom.  We got to the pool on Thursday evening and had fun in the hot tub, in the baby pool going down the slide and splashing around with noodles in the big pool.  My eldest was even open to working a bit on her back floats (she can already swim on her front, so this is the first step to swimming on her back too) and we only had one serious melt-down.  Which my mother basically took care of.  Did I mention I’m thankful for my mother?

Number 4

I’m thankful for Hippo’s Go Berserk.  Where’s that Thankful Board again?  Oh.  Right here!

This is one of my favourite board books and is also a favourite of both my girls.  And I read it, on two separate occasions, with both girls this week.  And in that bonding moment with my two girls, I naturally thought: How can I use this moment to better integrate my blog and Pinterest boards?  So later that week I started a book page for my girls.

And all the hippos go berserk.

Number 3

I’m thankful for last-minute beer with friends.  It’s been a busy time at work – and the next two weeks are going to be challenging because on top of my job, my husband’s work is about to throw a lot of overtime and long hours at him too.  So I was happy late Friday morning to get a message from a good friend asking if I wanted to grab a beer after work.  My husband was picking up the girls, so yes!  Hadn’t seen him in over a month, and his friend in longer than that.  Good conversation, couple beers, bad service to joke about, and then home.  With a play date coordinated for the girls next week to boot.  Multitasking.  Boo yeah!

Number 2

I’m thankful for the hot tub at the gym.  I finally made it back to the gym last Monday for the first time in about two weeks.  I took it easy on an elliptical, and then while the girls were happy in the gym playcare, I sat in the hot tub, surrounded by quiet nothing, and read.  Glorious.

Number 1

I’m thankful for the family time I had last weekend for Easter.  Among other things we did our first outdoor Easter Egg hunt with the girls and, on the suggestion of my eldest, baked a cake with lots of sprinkles.

I was also thankful for the four-day weekend, extra sleep and family dinner hosted by my parents.  Oh!  And I’m thankful I made it through unit six of my macroeconomics course.  Now all that’s left is my last assignment and exam.  All I apparently need are a few more long weekends to get that done 🙂

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What were you thankful for this week?