Happiness Is...

Here's my attempt at summarizing the last few days, weeks, months...My life has been pretty hectic, (working 25-30 hrs a week - from 6pm -???, room mom, Brownie leader and just, ya know, taking care of 3 kids and a house) So it'd be easy to get stressed; but with Thanksgiving just behind us and Christmas rapidly approaching, I've been thinking a lot about what makes me happy...here are just a few of the things that made the list...(in no particular order!)

An unbelievably warm November...to make up for the rainy, cold October! Just when I thought fall was over and we were doomed to months indoors, we were blessed with a gift of warmth in November! Yay! More trips to the zoo, playgrounds and sno cones!

Silly kids...especially in coordinating or matching outfits!




Boys having fun in shopping carts...
I'm hoping most people don't mind the happy screaming kids!
Fall...I love fall! The crunch you hear with every step...The smell of the fallen leaves...The bold, bright colors of each tree...the crisp air that's cold enough for a sweatshirt, but still warm enough for a picnic...the laughter heard with every jump into a pile of those crunchy leaves....molasses cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter on whole wheat english muffins, beef stew...a return to dinners made in the oven and all things pumpkin!

My soccer stud...Sadly, I had to work every Tuesday night when they had practice, but luckily I got to go to a lot of Dillon's games. So much fun to watch these guys play. This Pre-K team beat most of the Kdg. teams they played! He was a defender and did a great job keeping that ball away from the goal!

As a side note, one thing that makes me unhappy, is a broken camera.The fact that my phone can take pictures however, makes me a little happier!

A break from teaching Boot Camp...While I loved each class, and really do miss it, I'm super happy to have a couple of nights home with the kids!
Thanksgiving...Of course I love to think about all that I am blessed with on Thanksgiving, but I like to do that every day! I also love turkey, but eat that almost every day too! So, what I love the most about Thanksgiving is being with my family, watching the Macy*s Parade, getting the kids decked out in cute new matching sweaters, smelling the mouth watering blend of a carb-filled feast, snaking on rye bread and dill dip, eating lots of stuffing (Liz's was incredible this year!!!) eating even more pie (can't pass up mom's amazing banana cream pie!) and sitting by the fire too full to move, while listening to the laughter as cousins play, thinking....THIS is what I'm thankful for! (along with a whole bunch of other things!)

Black*Friday...I have worked a lot of these, but my little Glik*s was never nearly as crazy as Kohl*s on the Friday after Thanksgiving! What a blast! Now, waking up at 2:20am wasn't too easy, but once I got there, the 9 hour shift just flew by! I had so much fun being the line monitor. I was the light at the end of the tunnel! I got to wear my "Santa Baby" t-shirt and hand out candy canes to everyone as I told them which register they could go to next. Easy, fun, happy job! I got to talk to everyone, find out what stores had been the craziest and best of all - didn't have to fold a single shirt all day! I got home around 1:30 (after doing a little shopping of my own), took the kids to the playground, then fell asleep with them at 7pm - woke up around 3am and thought (briefly) about getting up and putting up the Christmas decorations, but decided to roll over and go back to sleep until 7am!
A new Saturday morning ritual...The past few Saturday mornings have been spent watching a quick cartoon, Brady's favorite is "Mee-Mouse" (Mickey*Mouse*Clubhouse) then Mom gets to enjoy a spinning class at the gym while the kids play in the "kids Club." As an incentive to get there on time, we get to go to Tony*s Donuts afterwards for warm, delicious donuts!

Farmer's Markets...We love going to eat treats while we watch the trains go by. Sure it's a little over-priced, but their honey-crisp apples are incredible! And the streets are lined with the cutest little gift shops (and another tasty bakery!)

More Treks Around the Lake...I have finally figured out, that if I want to actually get a good work-out, I can take just Brady in the stroller (and sometimes he even sleeps!) or let Dillon come with me on his bike. Any combination of any of the kids, means stopping every few minutes to discover a new leaf, rock or fuzzy caterpillar! Those trips are fun too, but don't really keep the ol' heart rate up for a full 60 minutes!

Christmas Time...Pandora* keeps my house filled with festive music, Scentsy* keeps it smelling like cinnamon and the thought that Santa's watching every move, keeps my house clean and happy! (it's amazing what kids are capable of when that silly man's name is mentioned!)

I could go on and on...but since it's late, and you've probably stopped reading this, I'll stop here for now, and guess I'll just have to start blogging a little more often! So I'll wrap it up by saying just this...Happiness is when these 3 silly kids get along and play happily together! Those times are the highlight of any day, week or month!