Attitude of Semi-Gratitude

This post could also titled Finding the Silver Lining or Looking on the Bright Side.

I've been in a funk again.  Life feels hard.  I know I am so blessed and my life is really amazing and these challenges are all just part of the adventure.  But when I don't sleep, I have a really hard time being positive.  In the last two weeks I haven't slept. (I think it's been two weeks, but I can't really remember.) Simon's eczema has been pretty nasty.  All night he squirms out of his tight swaddles and rubs his cheeks raw with his sock covered hands.  All night I re-swaddle him again and again and hold his hands down.

In my sleepless state I tend to focus on all that is wrong.  But I am working on being grateful!!!  

So here are a few of things I'm grateful for in the midst of the challenges:

(photos not intended to correspond with text, just enjoy)

• Caring friends and family who have dealt with eczema and have offered their advice. Per their advice, I've eliminated dairy from my diet.  I haven't seen a drastic improvement in Simon's skin yet (that could take almost a month to get out of both our systems), but...
• Simon is no longer stuffed up (he snorted like a piggie most of his life), he spits up very little, and he rarely has gas pain anymore.  I attribute this to no dairy!

• Oliver's skin is looking fantastic.  He has also suffered from eczema all winter.  He is no longer eating dairy as well. 
• I'm finally loosing a bit of baby fat.  Thanks to not eating dairy!

• I slept a solid 4 hours last night.  Midnight until 4:00am was awesome.  I dozed off again and at 4:30 was pulled out of a deep dream to clean up vomit from a sick little girl.  
• Hardwood floors that really needed a good mop.  And bedding that really needed to be washed anyway.  Those dust bunnies behind the headboard were getting out of control.  Nothing like a little vomit to motivate a deep clean.  
• An absolutely amazing husband.  He wrangled three tired kids at 4:30am while I slowly cleaned.

• A clean kitchen every morning.  I'm not a very good housekeeper.  If I have a bit of free time I choose to sleep, not clean.  I got into the habit of falling asleep as soon as the kids were in bed, instead of cleaning the post dinner messes in the kitchen.  One morning a few weeks ago I was greeted by a cockroach.  That was enough to adjust my priorities (right after calling the exterminator).  It is so nice to wake up to a clean kitchen!

• A happy husband.  He is really enjoying his new job.  I rarely see him anymore because he's working so hard.  I love the little time we spend together.  He's at peace and happy.  That feels so good!

• My boys are taking awesome naps.  Lately, Simon naps 8:30am-11:30am.  Then Oliver naps 12noon-3pm.  That means we are inside until 3:30pm on these most beautiful spring days, which has been hard.  But nice naps are really, really fabulous.