What I am Thankful for

This morning both girls woke before the sunrise ready to eat/play/read/color.  I, on the other hand, was not ready to do any of the above.  Being the clever and resourceful parent I am, I employed the use of two very trusty helpers, Max and Ruby.  Unfortunately, the show only lasted 22 minutes and 34 seconds, so 22 minutes and 35 seconds later I was forced to open my eyes, roll out of bed, toast some waffles, and begin the day.

After breakfast the girls played well together until Maisy, my adorable and terrible two-year-old, decided that she must, right then, have the exact royal blue, plastic gem sticker that Elana was pretending possessed magical fairy powers.  When "Give it to me!" didn't work, Maisy marched up to her big sister pinching Elana's arm and scowling.

While Maisy was spending a few minutes alone in her room (thinking about her actions?), Elana rolled around the kitchen floor wailing, "Let's give Maisy away!  I don't want her anymore!" Imagine my surprise when four-and-a-half hours later I picked Elana up from preschool and she proudly presented me with her latest art work:

Oh, the fickle little minds of toddlers.

So began my own annual (well, this will be the second annual) tradition of reflecting on the top ten things, parenting related, that I am most thankful for in the past year. 

1. Nick Jr made the brilliant decision to push all commercials to the end of each show.  Now, instead of needing to sit next to my children during each Dora episode, I can go about my own business, only to return 23 minutes later.
2. The legacy of Steve Jobs.  Without his vision how would I ever be able to fly cross-country with toddlers.  See Thank You Steve Jobs: A Mother's Tribute.
3. Barilla Plus: pasta with protein.  I will readily admit to just about anyone that I am a lazy cook.  My skills in the kitchen are minimal at best and I cater to my children's picky pallets.  However, when I boil a box of Penne Plus, protein (a tricky food group) is eagerly consumed by both fussy foodies.
4. Juice boxes that are 50% juice/50% water.  In the past year Maisy has decided that she would favor a liquid diet.  If she had her druthers, breakfast, lunch, and dinner would be sipped through a straw- preferably purple.
5. That my youngest is too old to be a lap-child.  Flying alone with two kids under four, one of which squirmed relentlessly on my lap, was painful.  I feel blessed to now be able to book all three seats of an airplane row and actually reclaim my legroom.
6. Stanley steamer was able to clean the rotten milk stain from my car upholstery and rid car of the stale urine smell. This one is self explanatory. 
   
7. My first born is finally old enough for drop-off playdates and birthday parties.  Why didn't anyone tell me how awesome this would be? 
8. The hours between 8 pm and 7 am.  Yes, I was thankful for this last year too.  But, when something is this valuable, it deserves to be repeated.
   
9. Toddler clocks.  Who knew that such a small and simple gadget could bring a parent so much peace?  After only a few nights of training, Maisy knows to wait for the green glow of her clock. 
10. Elana is now through with her princess obsession- has graduated to all things fairy.  It's true.  We now longer live in the Disney aisle of Target.  We are now privileged enough to be able to read all one-hundred-and-eight Rainbow Magic Fairy books.  (There may be over a hundred books, but there is only one plot.) 

What are you thankful for?