loud and proud

Ten things that I am proud of:

Though I know my kids aren't "things" exactly, I can't help but putting them on the top of the list because they each make me proud, every day.  Maybe I should say it to them more often!They are each individuals, but I feel a great sense of pride because I believe that as their mom, I help(ed) them be the good people that they are.  I'm very proud of (1) Kara for continuing to pursue her dreams of being a city girl, and working to make singing and acting a part of her life, even though it's hard and draining and disheartening sometimes.  I'm proud of (2) Alex for being such a good young man.  He really is such a joy - a kind, witty, thoughtful, respectful boy - often times surprising me with what a decent kid he is.  I'm so proud of (3) Megan for all of the hard work she does in school - she is really committed to getting good grades, and she loves reading and learning.  She's just so smart and intuitive. And I'm proud of (4) Brooke for being a genuinely nice and caring person. She is such a sensitive soul, such a good, thoughtful, fun, funny friend.

(5) I'm proud of Alex for working so hard and being such a success for such a young attorney, and also for dealing with being an actual honest (small time) politician during a tough time. It's a pretty thankless job most of the time, but he just won't ever give up on our community.

(6) I'm proud of a business that I started up and ran for several years.  It makes me happy that even though I sold it a few years ago, it is still thriving in this little community.  Sometimes I really miss it.

(7) I'm proud of finishing college when I was young and broke, and going it alone as a mom to my girl Kara.

(8) I'm proud of continuing the effort to be stronger and healthier.

(9) I'm proud of my home - we designed and built it, and I really like the way it all came together.  Although I have to admit that I am seriously considering selling and building another...

And lastly, (10) I am proud of sticking with this dumb cleanse that I am on right now, and not cheating.  It's hard but not hard, you know?  I have another almost two weeks to go and I really hope I can finish strong!

recent random phone pics and baby names

Today's Monday Listicle on The Good Life is ten photos from your cell phone.  I have so many photos from my cell phone.  It often surprises me what decent pictures a phone can actually take, quality-wise.  Not that these are an example of that.    So anyway, here are a random recent bunch:

The "note" I found on the counter the other day. My husband definitely gets me.

Dinner with my cutie girls in the city

fuzzy face photo

Black "Thursday night" on the electronics line

How Ty does Black Friday (hangover) shopping

Post bath snuggle

First time rock climber in CT

JJ, my friend's adorable bald man baby, looking all filled with wisdom

Turkey Trotters
(Julian & Brooke)

Some of my Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving weekend annual B-Ball challenge - boys against dads
(Alex, Will & Kieran)

As far as names we considered for our kids:

I knew Kara was going to be a girl, so I didn't think of any boy names.  I was positive I was going to name her some version of Alex, but I didn't like the way girl Alex long names (Alexis, Alexandra, etc) sounded.  I really, honestly didn't know I could have just named her Alex - I was so young and such a dummy.  So in the hospital, the girl in the next bed was talking about how her friend just named her new baby Kara, and it just sort of felt right to me.  So Kara Elizabeth it was.  ELizabeth was after my Dad's mother.

Little Alex we always pretty much knew would be Alex, named after his Dad, who was named after his dad.  So he is a third.  I threw out the name Tighe (like Ty, but an Irish spelling), but that never happened.

Megan was my worst naming event.  We could not even come up with a name for her.  In fact, she was actually Julia for two days in the hospital before we came home, but I frantically changed it because she so didn't look like a Julia at all.  Then Alex picked Megan, which I didn't love but felt pressured to go with.  He kept saying, "Can't you picture a little Meg B running down the soccer field with a ponytail?"  And I was thinking, "I guess..."  Meg B does not love soccer, but she does wear a ponytail.  Her name grew on me after a year or so - it seriously took that long!

Naming Brooke was easy.  When we knew she was a girl, I picked Brooke  Allison.  Her middle name is after my sister Ali.  I considered Meredith, and I still have it as a back up for another baby.  Not that we're going there, but I still like it.  If she was a boy, we were tossing around Eli, Henry or Ari.  Henry for Alex's grandpa, Ari after my dad, and Eli just because it was cute.