In keeping with the Everyday Yogini’s practice of weekly gratitude leading up to the holidays, here is my 5-minute gratitude list for today:

I am grateful for Pea’s ability to withstand a horrible ear infection coupled with a very high fever for days and days and days and never let it affect her sunny disposition. Sure, she was a little grumpy at the end, from being cooped up inside for so long, but she really handled her illness with aplomb – never complained. And now? She’s all better and back on her usual schedule;

I’m grateful for my She-Bible “Frankie” hoodie. I didn’t pay full price for it, it’s about the most chic little hoodie you’ll ever come across, and when you break it down to cost-per-wear, it’s already paid for itself. I practically live in it now that the weather has finally cooled off;

I’m grateful that my husband is returning tomorrow from his business trip to Connecticut;

I’m grateful for my next-door neighbors who have become surrogate parents to my husband and myself. They watch over me while he is out-of-town and are just lovely people. They are a gentle reminder to me of how vitally important it is when building a community to reach out to those around you;

I am grateful that our French drain has successfully been installed behind our garage and guesthouse, that it was done quicker than projected and came in $300 under the estimate;

I am grateful for “Dora the Explorer!” I know, something you never thought you’d hear me say, but oh my gosh! This morning, Pea was in the den watching it, while eating her breakfast. I let her do this so I can have some time to get Coco ready for the day. And suddenly, Pea was screaming to me “ayuda me! ayuda me!” And I thought to myself, with a little chuckle, “well, she sure knows how to say it…” But after hearing her scream it a few more times, I finally went down to her. And when I saw her, I thought to myself, “well, not only does she know how to say it, but she obviously knows what it means!” She was stuck in her little sister’s Exersaucer. Calling to me for help in Spanish made it all the more precious;

I’m grateful that I got most of our Christmas shopping done yesterday, and that I did it in a store while our wonderful nanny watched our girls (check out this catalog called Magic Cabin, the toys in it are nothing short of incredible. Not the usual plastic crap with 5,000 pieces. This stuff is quality, creativity driven and meant to be passed on to others when your kids are finished with the toys. We bought Pea the Skuut Toddler Bike since she’s already practically outgrown her tricycle. She’ll be thrilled to find it under the tree Christmas morning.);

I’m grateful for my wonderful nanny, who is not only great at her job, but whom I genuinely like chatting with and who says she feels very comfortable in our home and makes it possible for me to have a few hours to myself every week;

Lastly, I am grateful today that our contractor is going to be back on Monday to finish what he started, the renovation of our guesthouse. He came for one day and then disappeared on us for the rest of the week, because someone else had flooding issues that needed his attention stat! (Hello? Flooding issues are why we hired you, too…)