Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Happy

Today has been a good day.  Busy, but good. 

To celebrate said good day I am writing a happy list. 

Things that make me happy:


1-  Coffee.  Coffee is the only thing that can wake me up in the morning and keep me going all day long.  Yes, I drink coffee all day long.  Mind you, it usually is the same 2 or 3 cups that I just keep reheating and reheating and sipping all day long, but it makes me happy.

2-  Bloggy friends.  Y'all give me such good advice from things like Disney World to Ben's eye issues.  Thank you so much!  I so appreciate all of your feedback.

3-  Sunshine.  After nonstop rain for almost a week today was sunny and 67 degrees.  Now the kids are playing out in the backyard while Todd cuts the grass.  Good times.

4-  Doing Your Best.  Today at school Joey got the Student of the Month award for math.  This is a big deal because recently we went through some struggles with Joey regarding his school work.  After finding out that he didn't even try on an important test (a MAPS test, no less) and finished in minutes when the rest of the class took an hour (ACK!!!) we had a long talk with him.  It was all about doing your best, working hard, and always trying to be the best you can be.  It was a really good heart to heart, and though we have spoken to him before about working hard I think it finally clicked with him.  Since then he is really taking pride in his work.  Every morning we repeat our motto, "Do your best!" before he goes to school and I can tell he really is living up to it.  Getting the Student of the Month for MATH is a big deal.  Huge.  He is very proud of himself.  And that makes me so HAPPY.

5-  Resilience.  Ben had his year end performance with his classmates today.  They did a play, they sang, they danced, did yoga, and acted silly.  It started out with each student walking out on stage (it is in a theater and everything) in any silly way they wanted (like a monkey, a bunny, on tiptoes, etc.) and introducing themselves.  Ben was so silly.  He had the whole audience laughing.  Then when he went on for his big JUMP finish his glasses flew off his face and there was a bit of a gasp from the audience.  Ben swiped them up as fast as he could, smiled, said his name (LOUDLY!) and ran off stage.  I felt really badly for him.  His big moment and those stupid, new glasses got in the way.  Still, he came back out on stage like nothing happened.  And let me tell you, he shined!  He was funny, and brave, and coordinated, and so fun to watch.  At one point they were doing a chair dance (he goes to school at an arts center and they had a dance troop come through that did this earlier in the year) and he did absolutely amazing things.  I was sweating thinking he was gonna fall, but he didn't!  At one point he turned the chair over, and stood on the edge of it on one leg!  Holy cow!  And then he turned it over again and did push ups.  So cool.  He did such a great job.  I was just so proud of him for not letting a little blip hold him back from doing his best.  Watching him ham it up on stage and be so comfortable in his skin (in front of all those people) was honestly a highlight of my week.

(going up on one foot)                                                  (the push-ups)


6-  Our neighborhood.  I am so thankful we moved to this neighborhood.  It is a perfect balance between, quiet and safe, close to school/work/church, the feel of being in the country, plenty of other kids to play with, and open spaces for playing.  Even though we are only a few minutes from everything is still feels like we are in the wild.  It sounds funny, but the other day we were playing out front and there were 20 turkey vultures flying over head.  It was crazy!  They were HUGE.  We ran to the end of the culdesac to watch them fly over the cliffs by the lake and just as we got to the field 5 deer ran out of the trees past us.  So crazy!  We've also seen turkeys, skunks, muskrats, bunnies, and all kinds of gorgeous birds.  Just the other day I had SIX bluejays in my backyard.  Happy.

7-  Birds.  As I just mentioned I saw bluejays in my backyard.  I can't remember the last time I saw bluejays.  And I know they are a mean bird (the robins in our yard dive bombed them outta here pretty quickly) but they are just so beautiful.  Anyway, since I saw the bluejays I have been really taking note of all the birds we have in our yard.  I started taking pictures to see how many different kinds I can capture on camera.  I have been shocked at what I've seen.  It is amazing what you see when you actually take the time to stop and look.  Anyway, I am stocking up on all the pics to show you on another post.  I'm very excited about it.  And slightly obsessed (me staring at the window all day with my camera in hand has begun to annoy my hubby).

So there you have it folks.  My happy list.  Do you have a happy list today?  What's on it?

7 comments:

Jeni said...

The first three things on your list -especially the #1 item -would be on my list too, although for #2 I would just make is simply "friends -any and all of 'em." And, if my grandkids came home with an award like that, or were in some type of performance, you better believe that makes my list then too! Right now, I'm adding one item to my list and that's to tell myself "It's a beautiful day in Pennsylvania" even though as I look out the window it's gray and dreary, gonna be another rainy one and I'm not a big fan of that so I need a little reminder that it's still a beautiful day, regardless. Hope that psychological stuff works for me now!

Anonymous said...

The fine weather, my new porch floor, good hair day and coffee make my happy list right now.
A good neighborhood is priceless and I have that, too.

Lynn said...

The nicer weather makes me happy. The sunshine, flowers, budding trees, birds, freshly mowed grass....everything about this time of year i love. It makes everything much better.
CHECK OUT MY BLOG FOR AN AWARD!!!
You're awesome!

Mom24 said...

What a wonderful list! So happy for Joey. Tell him congratulations!

lime said...

that's a great list! congrats to the kiddos for their respective successes too.

my happy list is topped by ivan NOT being terrible ;)

sunshine is good too.

great friends, supportive family, and a good work environment all make my list.

nbrsspot.blogspot.com said...

Happy Mothers Day my friend.. Hope all the stuff you wished for, for today goes very well.

Riahli said...

Ah the last part of this post made me laugh out loud! I spend way too much time staring out my windows at birds as well, if I had a good camera I'd try more often to capture and image, but instead I keep a journal. :) We have a bunch of bird books and I'm always looking up birds with Atty and getting all excited when we spot a new bird. I've turned into a bird geek. :) My whole front yard is set up for birds and bird viewing. Bird feeders, bird baths, plants that attract birds, it's a bit out of hand at this point. I was just thinking the other day that it's amazing how many birds I notice all the time now, now that I'm looking for them I guess. When we were camping I was soaking in all the beautiful bird sounds as well, and I can even identify some of them now. Seriously geeking it up! ;) Can't wait to see your pictures.

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson