Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I am in awe that for two nights in a row, I have done everything that I need to do and it's before 9pm.  A huge improvement over too many nights prior of getting 4 - 5 hours of rest and nearly doubling that last night and tonight!  I can tell that both my brain and my body are thankful for rest.

Tonight I am also grateful for:

• Rain impossibly born of dust clouds tonight and its lovely companions lightning and thunder.  How nice to hear the pounding of rain on the pavement, the rush of water in the street outside, and the rumble in surround sound as I type.
• Craigslist!  We have saved so much money making purchases on Craigslist.  So excited to be able to help Lily get going on her big girl two wheeler that we scored for $45 this weekend!
• Calming Jars - both the concept and how much fun the girls and I had making them Sunday night.  I initially thought it would be a good outlet for Lily when she has a sensory overload moment to "get her mads out," just shake the heck out of it and watch the glitter fall, much like a snow globe.  But after reading the post again on Sunday, months after I had originally pinned the idea, I thought it might be great for Emmy too.  The girls love their jars, but we have yet to try them in the thick of things.
• Arizona monsoon clouds that have decorated the sky the past couple of weeks giving me pure, soothing art to look at every day while traveling in the car.  Although this is the hottest time of year, it is one of the most beautiful with wide expanses of multi-colored sky in shades of gray, purple, blue, orange, gold, pink, and some of the purest white billowy skyscrapers of storm clouds stacked upon each other and towering up from behind mountains.
• Meeting a new friend and discussing over lunch our experiences from the perspective of mothers what it is like raising our daughters who both have sensory processing disorder.  I'm so excited to get the girls together and to get to know each other's family!
• Reconnecting with my favorite sensory processing book called, Raising a Sensory Smart Child, and realizing that they have a Facebook page with so much useful information, posts, discussions, and more that I am so excited to spend more time on.
• Rearranging my workstation today and feeling so much more productive with lots more workable space than I had before and much more ergonomically comfortable. 
• Talking with my brother tonight about progress, reality, fears, and love.  So wonderful to hear his voice and hear him for the first time, Jake in the raw.
• Tincture from Chakra4 Herb and Tea House called "Take a Chill Pill" that I really got for Lily that supports nervous system function, but that I used last night.  That along with another Chopra meditation finally helped my shoulders relax after a couple weeks of increasing rigidity.