10 Things to Smile About in September

Last month, I participated in Emmymom's Ten Things to Smile About and loved the forum it gave us to reflect on the past month.  I had a hard time in August narrowing down my list to 10 and the same happened this month.  Yet another reminder of how very blessed I am to have so many wonderful things to smile about in one month!

My Top 10 Things To Smile About in September:

1. Soccer!  It has begun!!
This year Sis is playing on a Select team
which means more practices and more travel but we love it.......

2. All the other kids with the pumped up kicks.....
Remember my hubby's obsession with Liverpool football?
 I thought I had scored by finding these haught Liverpool kicks.
no.

 3. Moscow Mules with my sweet cousin
This yummy drink that hubby & I discovered last Spring was a top fav at the hotel bar in NYC.
Now the drink isn't what makes me smile...it's the company!

 4. Hello! Broadway!!!
Love me some Musicals - we saw 2 while in NYC this month.
BOM is pretty controversial, but I have never laughed so hard at a show before......

 5. Hello Mr. Lowe!
Guess who was watching the Book of Mormon with us?
AND happened to brush my shoulder?
AND winked at me when I asked to take his pic???
Wouldn't that make YOU smile??

 6. Why did we got to NYC?  To say farewell!
One highlight of our trip was to attend a charity event for the ending of a legendary soap opera, All My Children.  There is so much to tell about this event - it will come in a few days.
In the meantime, meeting this sweet actress in person made me smile (10 points for whoever knows her!)
Aww, who am I kidding....it was all the CRAZIES at this event that made me smile (more to come)

7. Shit my Mom Said...
These 2 sisters (my Mom &my Aunt) make me smile.
After spend ing 5 days in NYC with them, I have  a book to write about all the crazy things they did or said (again, more to come)!!

8. Love me some trains momma!
We put a patio in (finally) and my little man is so happy to sit and watch the trains go by behind our house.  They are not constant, but on this particular day, we had a few - so he was out there soaking it up, waving away at the engineers, and even got a few bells & horns back!
Whoo-Whoo!! 

 9. Yes, I do let them write on the walls.
While painting Brody's room, I had to paint over this little gem he scribed a few years ago.....
made me smile....

10. Italian food.
Good Italian food from Little Italy.
Twice in one weekend.
Yum!

Despite the crazy, busy pace of September, it was a fantastic month! And I love looking back at all the little things that made me smile!

Happy List 7.9.11

Happy Saturday!  I was up super early this morning, as the sun comes up at the crazy time of 5 am in Illinois (what?????) and after 2 weeks of it, I can't sleep in past 6:30.  UGH.  So, 2 super big cups of coffee, one episode of Private Practice on the 'puter, breakfast made, and 30 minutes of iPhoto editing later.......
it's only 8:34.
did I mention it's Saturday?
So let's focus on Happy, shall we? 
Mamarazzi over at Dandelion Wishes hosts a weekly Happy List that will easily sum up some of the fun we have had this past week while visiting family up in the Midwest:

Like eating GIANT pancakes

Watching how one yummy doughnut can turn a grumpy morning boy into a sweet thing (no pun intended).

Riding an indoor ferris wheel

and swimming every day in Grandma & PaPa's backyard.

As much as we miss Texas (been gone for 3 weeks now), we have truly relaxed while in Illinois.  We have read books, played games, taken long walks, eaten way too much food (which just means I have to run MORE), and taken time to breathe with little responsibility.

We are so relaxed that Brody has let his guard down and  had some really fun conversations with me - yes, we talked about how gold is discovered, shark attacks, and geo caching, but I'll take it.  It was a really fun day with him.

And one more thing to add to my Happy List, R We There Yet Mom?  was featured on 2 sites this week!!  Suitcases & Sippycups featured our trip to Chicago last summer - Jessica has a fun blog showcasing her family travels - she takes awesome pictures too, so you can't help but be fascinated with what she & her family is up to.  Check her out!

And Working Moms About.com had an article on Budget Vacations and featured a link to our Staycation post.

I was beyond happy!

So I'm off to more reading, swimming & eating - take a moment to reflect on what makes you happy this week!

My Happy List: Easter Edition

Good Morning!  It is shaping up to be a beautiful Easter weekend!  I hope everyone takes the time to recognize all that God has done for you this weekend - sending his son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for us!

And in turn, I want to recognize all that I have been blessed with this week via Mamarazzi's "Happy List"



1. It's Easter weekend!!  My kids had Friday off - here in the south, we always get Good Friday off from school.  When I was growing up, we called it "Good Friday", but now it is just a "spring Holiday".  go figure.

Both older kids thought they got the day off for Earth Day - hmmmm - no.

Don't get me wrong, Earth Day is great - love Mother Nature - but since when does it trump the death of Christ?  Not in this house.

Luckily, a few friends of mine shared this fun clip on The FaceBook this week and it got my kids back in the right frame of mind.

Please take a moment to watch it - it so adorable.....


2. Good Friday off playing with my kids!  We planned a HUGE photo scavenger hunt with friends in the neighborhood and finished the day with a swim in the pool with margaritas.  It.Was.Awesome.

3. A Massage.  I won a massage from my personal trainer and y'all....it was the best massage ever!!!  I don't take the time to get these very often and it was so wonderful.  ahhhhhhhhhh

4. RedBox - have ya'll discovered this???  So easy and only a BUCK!!  We rented Love & Other Drugs.  Good movie but what cracked me up the most was that the character was a Pfizer rep - and they nailed it.  So outrageously funny the things he did....and so embarrassingly true.....

5.  Found $$$$.  Hubby pulled a back pack out of the attice and while emptying it out, discovered a few travelers checks from a vacation we took in 2008.  WHAT?????  God just blesses us left & right in the best ways.  Momma's going shoppin for some Easter shoes today!!!

It has been a really good week -- we are happy to have no commitments this entire weekend and spend time as a family.

Happy Easter to all!!  

Christ is Risen!

He has Risen Indeed!!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

It's Spring and Saturday and going to be in the 80's here today...what's NOT to like about this trifecta????

Nothing!!

So why not focus on what we have to be happy about this morning??  I went to bed grumbly, drained, and emotionally over this week.  Woke up, got my 7 am boot camp in, and voila- Happy time.  (seriously y'all - I have some major endorphins flowin this am)





So I am linking up with Mamarazzi's Happy List....cause don't we all need to reflect and focus on what makes us happy in life?

So what makes me Happy?

I am happy to have a large cup of steamin' hot coffee with Caramel Macchiato creamer in my hand.

I am happy to have a great friend who also happens to be a terrific trainer do boot camp twice a week to keep me interested and motivated to work out.

I am happy to have a hubby who suggests we go to the DQ for blizzards last night - one reece's peanut butter cup blizzard = how many boot camps?  Oh well.

I am happy to find out that Bubba's spill last fall did not permanently damage his 2 front teeth from the dentist yesterday.  So what if they are a little jagged?  It suits him.

I am happy that I finished 3 books this week - no, I am not a crazy fast reader, but had started them all previously.  And I am happy that I am interested in a wide-range of books.....Definitly Dead by Charlaine Harris....The Complete A to Z of Glee...and Decision Points by George W. Bush.

What?!?

Don't judge me.

I am happy to have 10 friends running in the Capitol 10K with me tomorrow wearing matchy-matchy "Real Housewives of Round Rock" shirts.  The back of each girlfriends' shirt has a different ending to this saying, "Will Run For......"  What do you think mine says???


And I am happy every time I look at this picture.

it just makes me giggle.


what makes you happy???