A rough morning, to say the least

The other day, Olivia got up at 6:30.  Not unusual.  She typically gets up, makes her bed, quietly comes downstairs, closes my door so softly, so she doesn't wake me, and then does her thing.  Her thing ranges from sneaking TV to sneaking potato chips, to doing totally great things like drawing or emptying the dishwasher (nice, but noisy).  But this day she felt lonely, so she decided to wake her brother and sister up, who in turn woke her mom up.  Not a good move.  I started out the day grouchy, and immediately sent her to her room.  M and M were stinkers all morning and their nap could not come soon enough.  As a side note, their nap lasted close to 4 hours, so not all was lost.  So, after walking her to the bus I went upstairs to get clothes for the kids for the day, and I found a note that said, "Mom.....I love you........I'm a brat..........Olivia."  It broke my heart!  I did not call her a brat, but she obviously got that message from me.  And I'm sure it wasn't the first time.  So, to undo her sad feelings and my pangs of conscience, when she got home, I told her that I found her note and I had her sit down by me and write five really great things about herself.  She was resistant at first, but then in a sideways glance I caught her smiling, revealing the exact outcome I was hoping for.  Here is her list:  

1. I am the love gill

2. I am a good gill

3. I am thotfl.

4. I am rilly good at reding

5. I am rilly good at lafing

So, change gill to girl and phonetically sound out the rest and you've got her list!  I could add 100 more, including, she is helpful, she has a winning smile, she is confident, she makes friends easily, and she is the best big sister and helper ever!  I highly recommend this exercise not only for our kids, but for us.  What do you consider your five greatest attributes?