Thursday Thirteen: Things I'm Thankful For

I'm combining two super popular Thursday memes this week: Thursday Thirteen and Thankful Thursday. Pretty self-explanatory, I think, so here we go!

1) My family. HubbyButt and Monkey give meaning to my everyday, and I am so thankful to have them in my life.

Not the greatest photo, but it is recent, taken on Tuesday

2) My salvation. I've said before that I have a very strong faith, and it would be foolhardy of me to not include that in a list of things that I'm thankful for. I know that HubbyButt is also saved, and it delights me to know that we will truly spend eternity together.

3) Patience. This has increased exponentially since Monkey was born, and even more so since I started the Bible in 90 Days Challenge. I have found that I've not been raising my voice and that I've been much more kind to HubbyButt in the last 9 days.

4) Our extended families. I don't know where we would be without our parents and siblings. They have been so supportive through my pregnancy, Monkey's first few months, and they're standing behind our decision to leave my job.

5) Food in our kitchen. As I said previously, there have been quite a few times where I was living day-to-day as far as food goes, so I am extremely grateful to have plenty of food in my pantry.

6) A washing machine of our own. I know that may sound trivial, but having a cloth-diapered baby with reflux in our house means that I wash a lot of laundry. Before Monkey arrived, we were washing at least once a week at HubbyButt's parents' house, and while I enjoy our time over there, it's so nice to be able to get other housework done while the laundry is running.

7) Baby Einstein and Baby Geniuses. By no means do I use the TV as a babysitter, but I do LOVE our Baby Einstein jumperoo and Baby Geniuses DVDs. Monkey loves to jump, and the jumperoo has saved our arms! I also LOVE that the music on the Baby Geniuses DVDs isn't dumbed-down at all.

8) Cloth diapers. We have saved sooooo much money since switching to cloth when Monkey was 5 weeks old. I figure we've saved well over $300 in diapers already, and that figure increases every time I do a load of diaper laundry.

9) Netflix on the Wii. My guilty pleasure. I use Netflix every day; I watch movies, TV shows we don't get since we don't have cable, and I will occasionally use it to stream a workout.

10) Facebook and Skype. My parents and grandparents live 12 hours away, and these two wonderful inventions have allowed them to stay up-to-date on Monkey's growth and the new things she does everyday. Monkey also recognizes her Grandma's face thanks to Skype; it's amazing.

11) Kushie's Flushable Liners. These things are amazing! We started Monkey on vegetables recently, and her poo has changed so much. I just pull off a liner, tuck it into the pocket on her diaper (so it doesn't slide around), and then when she poos, I flush the liner and the poo. They're wonderful. If you're planning on putting a newborn in cloth, I would recommend these, since meconium is soooo sticky icky and horrible to get off diapers. They also sell a washable liner, which I haven't tried.

12) Freedom of speech. Ok, I know it's super corny, but I really am thankful that I can get on here and write whatever I want without fear of censorship.

13) MOPS. I love love love my MOPS group. It's so wonderful to have a few hours every other week to get together with moms that have been where I'm at, both as a mom and spiritually. I got started late, since Monkey was due on the same day as the first meeting of the year (but born 5 days early), but I really feel like I've been accepted as a member of the group and I am so glad to have a slew of moms that I can honestly talk to and ask opinions of.

That's my Thursday Thirteen, what's yours?