So it’s been a week of fun milestones here with much to be thankful for – which makes it an easier week than most as I link up with Lizzi and her co-hosts’ Ten Things of Thankful Weekend Blog Hop.

The task?  List ten things you are thankful for from the past week.

Ready?  Set?!  GO!!!

I was very thankful, after a last Saturday morning trip to the clinic with my youngest, that we now have her on antibiotics and she is on the mend (Thankful #1).  We have our normal now two-year-old back.  Which is good.  Because today is her birthday and we are celebrating Sunday with family and friends and need the birthday girl to be ready to party!

Sweet Dreams Dora. Her eyes open and close. She plays music or giggles when you push her belly. Oh! And you can brush her hair!

Speaking of the birthday girl?  I’m thankful for Dora (Thankful #2).  For those keeping track, I think that’s two weeks in a row that I’ve been thankful for the Little Intrepid (if someone translates that into Spanish for me, that will be a bonus thankful). I swung by Toys ‘R Us on the way home from work to pick up some gifts (because we’re planners like that) and picked up Sweet Dreams Baby Dora, a Dora Mega Surprise Loot Bag (and a Barbie one for Big ‘Sis so she didn’t feel left out), put the Dora swag in a Dora Bag with pink tissue paper and was voted BEST MOM EVER by our new resident two-year-old when I got home.

I also swung by Movies ‘N Stuff and the Three Sisters Bakery on the way home and picked up some used Dora DVDs I noticed when I was there with the kids on Monday, and some swank cupcakes to celebrate the occasion.  So I am thankful for awesome local businesses (Thankful #3).

I’m thankful to our daycare provider who got our youngest a lovely play mixing set for her birthday (Thankful #4).  I enjoy baking and doing simple cooking with my eldest, so maybe my youngest can join in soon too!

I’m thankful to our insurance company who have invited us for a family afternoon out at the circus in early August (Thankful #5).

This is f*#*ing awesome.

I’m thankful to our neighbour with two bouncy castles.  She cares for her grandson pretty much full-time and got called away last-minute so I offered to watch him for a few hours.  He’s in daycare with our girls and they get along great.  She came over and set up one of their bouncy castles; and brought juice and snacks before leaving. Then, to reciprocate (in case provision of fantasy playland for my daughters in exchange for babysitting during a time that I’d really be watching my kids anyway didn’t cover it) she had our eldest over to play the following afternoon while I dealt with my sick youngest AND had her son’s landscaping company mow our lawn. #grandmaoftheyear (Thankful #6 through infinity). In all seriousness though, I’m thankful for good neighbours and that my girls get along great with the boy next door.

I bought a book.  For fun.  That I’m gonna read. It’s total trash pulp fiction. And was 25% off at the pharmacy where I bought the candles last-minute for the fine gluten-free cupcakes you see up there (because that’s all the bakery had left – but they were SO GOOD). I’m thankful for James Patterson and the downtime brought by summer (Thankful #7).

I’m thankful for wine, bottling my own wine, and fun in the blogosphere (Thankful #8).

We’ve been bottling our own wine for about seven years now.  It’s economical.  And good.  And I’m drinking it RIGHT. NOW. In my new Mommy Sippy Cup.

This bottling is well-timed because we now have ample wine for our family birthday party this weekend.

I mean, honestly – I now have 48 bottles of wine and multiple Dora products.  Is anything else REALLY needed to keep 11 adults and 6 preschoolers happy?

Honestly, I’ll be doing the rest of the prep tomorrow, but had some great fun first bottling, then online, reflecting on how the bottles I recycle are really, well, memories in themselves.

Okay, not quite that THERE, but how about HERE:

Use to work for Veterans Affairs and won this bottle at a fundraiser. LOVE IT.

Bottle on the left? From the winery my brother got married at. The right? Just funny.

That first tweet?  My attempt at tweeting a photo for this hop here:

Not a clue if I did that right.

I’m thankful for the joy in milestones, the Internet, and an accommodating dentist (Thankful #9).

My eldest lost her first tooth this week.  Major milestone. She was stoked. By I WASN’T READY!

She announced it was loose on Monday.  I thought she was spinning tales until I checked and, sure enough, one of her bottom teeth was super loose, and the second was wiggling away happily.

It’s too early! Was my first panic.

So I did like any rational person and … checked the web.

Well! This is the first medical or developmental query I’ve EVER done online that ACTUALLY MADE ME FEEL BETTER.

Instead of ending the experience convinced a loose tooth at four was an obvious sign of parental neglect, poor brushing (#badmom #badmom #badmom), or possibly mouth cancer or, say, ebola, everywhere I checked convinced me it was totally normal.

Seeing we had skipped out on my daughter’s scheduled annual check-up one morning a few months back when we were having car drama and the @#&*ing thing wouldn’t start, we got a quick re-schedule for this week that confirmed everything was fine.

Is she on the early side of things?  Yes, but nothing to be concerned about.  And her teeth are wonderfully healthy!

The Tooth Fairy might have been a bit too gleeful in compensation as a result.

But that’s okay, because my daughter doesn’t quite understand the value of money yet.

Finally? I’m thankful for my husband cooking dinner tonight while I was out picking up gifts, and then for a fun after dinner dance party with my two girls (Thankful #10).

We cycled through all the birthday themed songs I could think of. For what it’s worth?  They aren’t 50 Cent or Kady Perry fans. As a side note, surprised about the second, because the lyric video actually has them MAKING A CAKE but my youngest was pretty adamant that she UNLIKED it.  As for Fiddy? I have a soft spot for that totally kiddy inappropriate song, so kinda thrilled they were like, yeah, what next?  Passing thought?  That song’s screaming for a Disney version. Just saying.

But to keep this blog post rolling and to get back to my point?  My girls apparently have boy band leanings.

Here’s the two songs we played on repeat for about a half hour before bedtime. I’m sort of equally impressed/amused by both choices.

Their grandfather will approve of the first.

The Beatles – Birthday Song from the White Album (1968)

I also approve.  I spent the latter years of high school pretty obsessed with this album.

New Kids on the Block – Happy Birthday (1991)

I also approve.  Thirteen-year-old me hung their pin-ups in my locker and I know every single word on that album.

Happy Birthday to my youngest!

And, yeah.  I just compared the New Kids to the Beatles.  I welcome discussion on that.

That’s my thankful this week.  Share yours with the welcoming community over at Ten Things of Thankful.