First of all…..A big thanks! You’ve made my day:

• To my kids: They have been playing so nicely together today. Who would have thought that a random mixture of my children’s toys and my old toys would hold the attention of my 4 kids for half the day.

• To wordpress: What a pleasant surprise to get an email saying they were promoting my post about “Getting over my decorator’s block” on their homepage (it’s gone already…sob sob)

• To those who visited my site: It was great having so many visitors come to my little neck of the woods.

• For all my lovely comments: Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I enjoyed reading them, they made me smile.

• For this beautiful day: As I write this (as corny as it sounds) the birds are churping and the sun is shining! (oh! now I hear a lawnmower…ooo fresh grass smell, neat!)

Second of all, I just wanted to share some mantras that have been running through my head today:

• “Make life easier on yourself”: I found socks and pillowcases scattered around the hallways that the kids had obviously got to. Doh! I forgot to put them away yesterday! I decided I was going to encourage myself to “make life easier on myself” by putting things away PROPERLY. I also found the mantra helped when I was deciding on what to cook for dinner, and what chores to tackle today.

• “Bring out the best in others”: What if, in an idealic world, we treated each other in a way that brought out the best in each other. This maybe easier to do with a loved one, because we know them better. On the other hand, it is harder, because sometimes we may fall into a trap of taking our loved ones for granted, and/or treating strangers better.

I know that with my children, I can bring out the best in them if they feel like I care, and if the atmosphere is relaxed. Simple things I’ve done today:

I have held my child’s gaze longer and smiled wider.

I have tried to help my children get things they needed for their play, and not always said “later” or “after I….”

What are you feeling grateful for?

Do you have a mantra that you live by?