Thursday's Small Successes

I know I haven't done one of these in a while.  It's possible I've accomplished things, but sometimes I'm too tired to recall :).  It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that. (Danielle Bean at Faith and Family Live.  Head over there and share your successes, too!)


1. Anni and I survived our 6 day trip away from home.  This was a big deal to me - we not only had to fly, but I didn't have Daniel to spell me through her restless nights and I had to leave her (with family, but nonetheless) for a full day while I worked.  whew.  We're all settled back in and she has remembered she loves her daddy, so it's good.

2. This is really a baby Nugget success, but she's sleeping through the night again!  We're finally reaching the end of yet another family cold, and the sleep that has come with recovery has been blissful.  We did have to let her cry for a few minutes a couple of times, but it is never a full blown screaming (I just can't handle that, it's not in my list of mommy abilities), just some whines and whimpers as she drifts in and out.  She was waking up at one or two in the morning and only sleeping when being held even after diaper changes, milk and a whole lot of rocking.  The part that made us giggle?  One night after she had put herself back to sleep, I went in to check on her and she had fallen asleep sitting up!  Her new pulling herself up to sitting skill (and a recent half standing splits skill) might start making nighttime even more interesting.

3. I have felt really fulfilled in my work lately.  The six day trip was primarily to photograph a wedding (as well as a maternity shoot and family shoot), and I really felt like it was one of my best to date.  I've even proofed out the maternity shoot and have made good headway into the wedding thus far.  It's a really good feeling.  You can check out my work on my business blog.  

4. Oh, I thought of one more I just have to post... my loan is all nicely paid off!  I know I blogged about it before, but the money is officially out of my account now, and my loan online says. "Paid in Full."  YES!

Thursday's Three Small Successes

1. Cleaned the apartment!  Like, really cleaned: dusting and vacuuming (the two things that tend to get left behind) as well as the normal necessary picking up.  Now, it's definitely not perfect.  I seem to have a knack for little piles that have no home.  But, I have to say, the place looks good.  Today is absolutely beautiful out, so I opened windows, cracked the door to our porch and am letting the sun shine in!  It's a beautiful thing.  Plus, along the lines of feeling like a good housewife: I have dinner all planned for tonight.  Totally random - but I have enough leftover ingredients (from several other meals) to make a small lasagna... and since it's just Daniel and I (Nugget isn't quite ready for lasagna), it'll be perfect!

2. Got all caught up on photos, ordered everything I had in the queue and blogged about all the recent shoots.  

3. We planned a few things for us to do for Advent!  While Anni isn't big enough to do a lot, we made plans to pray for one of our mission partners each day as well as to continue our tradition of lighting the advent wreath and saying corresponding prayers.  It's going to be a great month! 



Happy Thursday!  Hope you're taking time to recognize all the wonderful little things you do!

Thursday's Three Small Successes

1. Caught up on my recent photography projects.  (Working on cover art for a friend's CD as he tries to raise money to pay off debt so he can enter into the religious life plus all my recent shoots in Kansas and Colorado!  You can also always check out my photography blog and leave a few comments!)

2. Baked a cherry cobbler and made it to Thanksgiving dinner at FOCUS without too many issues (other than Anni's eventual exhausted stranger danger breakdown and immediate return home).

3. Made an entirely gluten-free meal for a dear friend from Crossroads.  She is a FOCUS missionary in Denver and came up for dinner.  For those interested, we made White Chicken Chili (making sure to use gluten-free chicken broth), salad and gluten-free cornbread (we ended up using a mix for this, but soon after discovered a simple gluten free cornbread recipe thanks to my sister)!  She also brought delicious brownies (yep, also gluten free).  My husband was in heaven with their fudgy goodness!

And there you have it!  Also, just a little photo eye-candy... just because :).  Anni is loving the mirror concept!

Share your three small successes of this week and check out everyone else's at Faith & Family Live!

Thursday's Three Small Successes

My three successes this week?

#1 Getting out there a little more:

(1) Joining MOPs (a mother's group help at our church). I know this seems like a silly "success," but being the introvert that I am, I tend to stick to home, and well... home. It's been hard making the transition to not being in college where all my best friends are literally a 5 second to 5 minute walk away. However, I babysat for this group during my pregnancy and decided joining would be a good way to get out and about and meet other mommies (or visit with a couple I already know).

(2) Luckily, my husband works at a really awesome place (The Fellowship of Catholic University Students, a Catholic campus outreach program) where young adults abound - so I have met some really awesome people through his work, and now that I'm not experiencing "all day sickness" all the time and we're a little more settled in with little Nugget, I'm looking forward to inviting people over, (maybe) being invited places... to all that good stuff.

(3) I went to my women's group without my buddy. I had always gone with a lovely friend I met through my husband (she sits next to him at work), but she had plans last night. Still... I decided I couldn't complain about not having adult interaction if I turned down perfectly good opportunities. And, lo and behold it was really wonderful :). The women in our group are incredibly sweet and we had some great discussion on a piece Edith Stein had written on women's strength. I also learned a little more about Edith Stein, the Saint...which was sweet.

#2 Tried (tried being the operative word) to work on a flaw

This particular flaw is one I struggle with over and over. I tend to take the silliest things personally... especially things that were in no way connected to me. It's as if I believe that someone doing something fun with someone else means they didn't want to do it with me. Ridiculous, I know... but there you have it. So, this week I worked on taking things like that less personally. I think it's going well - I'll let you know :).

#3 Prepared for baby Nugget's switch to 3-6 month clothes

As our little nugget grows (and grows), we've realized we're at a bit of a dilemma. She is super long (even if she wasn't a preemie, she's in the 50 - 75th percentile for her height at her age), but still pretty skinny (5th percentile if she wasn't a preemie). Now, she's definitely chubby for a little preemie, but her body fits 0-3 months while her length is creeping into the 3-6 month clothes. So, I got out all of her clothes, sorted them, and washed her 3-6 in preparation for the inevitable switch... oh, my little one! Growing up :).


dun dun dun dun! There you have it.

Oh, wait! There's another one! I also finished the wedding I was editing! Now on to a rockin' senior shoot and then a whole new round of things on our big trips to KS.