52 Weeks of Happiness Week 42

My sweet guy's SECOND birthday was Saturday!

We had friends and family celebrating with us, and it was lovely. We are so happy and lucky to have so many wonderful friends who want to celebrate our 2 year journey with our guy. Here's to the third year!

We had a circle theme-so we had circle food and decorations. Simple and sweet. And, I swear, our child turned two and he started talking in three word sentences. Wow. So big.

Happy birthday, sweet baby boy!

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 15

I've been completely immersed in being a mom since school has gotten out for the summer that I've fallen behind with blogging, but I'm completely determined to not miss a week of happiness! :)

Because I'm so happy being immersed in my little guy, I have a plethora of things to choose from for this week. Rigby went to his first concert, and I think the special-ness of this event deserves the honor of being the subject of this week's happiness post.

The Levitt Shell in Memphis has quite a history. It's the place of Elvis' first paid concert, and, funny enough, all the concerts now there are free.

Mom, little guy, and several friends came out to hear Bob Dorough of Schoolhouse Rock fame. It was wonderful. Plain and simple!

This week's picture? Not tremendously memorable, but the event sure was.

52 Weeks of Happiness Week 13

I am utterly exhausted.

This week, I am tired. I am finishing up the school year. Narrative report cards and grades. Packing up my office (moving again). Dealing with summer-fever ridden 3-7 year olds. My computer hard drive crashed, so I have been tremendously lacking in blogging. I've been packing for tomorrow's trip to New Orleans. Which means a lot of laundry and packing for me and the little guy.

BUT, of all the things I actually took pictures of this weekend, I had to share this small moment for this week's post. It's from Sunday. My son and dog were "sharing" a snack. This week, amidst the chaos of the last week of school, there was this wonderful boy-and-his-dog moment. I LOVE those moments.



I ADORE the look on his face. Like mother, like son. I shared many a snack with my canine brothers and sisters.

Such joy!!!

52 Weeks of Happiness, Week 11

We all know it...Mother's Day.

It was my second Mother's Day this year, and it was magical. Hubby (and dear son) got canvas prints made from pictures I took on my Iphone. Isn't that amazing? The pictures are so good that they can be blown up to a (I think) 16 x 16 print? (could be 20 x 20). One big print, and four smaller ones that we have lined up on our walls...and they are WONDERFUL.

We had family over that evening, and it was simply lovely. And this moment was special to me...so that is this week's picture. My son loves dogs, and my dog has been mine for 6 wonderful years, so she made me a "mommy" 5 Mother's Days ago...and now look at my real child and my sweet canine child. Beautiful moment.



Thank goodness my son is a dog lover!!!

52 Weeks of Happiness, Week 10

I hate to say it, but my week was kinda mundane. And usual. And though I find a little happiness in many, many things throughout the week, it's not quite the thing you take a picture of, so my picture only comes from last night.

And this is about things that make you wildly happy, right? That was last night.

A fellow teacher threw a Cinco de Mayo party.

Awesome part #1: It was 4 minutes from my house. SCORE!
Awesome Part #2: I got to bring my 16 month old!
Awesome part #3: Hubby came!
Awesome part #4: Hubby took son home, mama got to stay!

I stayed with good work girlfriends until 10:30. On a Thursday.

Here's a fun pic from the event. The much needed lovely wonderful event!

52 Weeks of Happiness, Week 9

What made me happy this past week?

A glorious, stress-free, LONG overdue, FOUR DAY WEEKEND.

Easter finally arrived, and this teacher is thanking her lucky stars that she didn't have to make up a snow day (like others did) on Easter Monday.

It was the SHORTEST long weekend ever. But beautiful.

We played outside and with a friend on Friday. On Saturday, we visited family friends in town for the holiday. Sunday we went to church and had a small cookout. Monday we took the little guy for his first dentist appointment.

Run of the mill? Not to me. I live for my time with him and with my family, and it was wonderful having a long weekend to enjoy both my guys (and my canine girl).

To represent the weekend, here's a peek at what the Easter Bunny left for little man.



The summer is 21 days away. 4 Mondays, 4 weeks. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

52 Weeks of Happiness, Week 7

I just looked over the past 6 weeks of Happiness photos, and I was surpised at what I didn't see. I thought for sure I'd put up pictures of my son, but sure enough, none have been put up yet!

And he makes me wildly happy.

I'm not sure if it's a new (by choice) medicine I'm on or just spring fever, but I find myself recently kind of down. Like my brain chemistry is kind of off. Who knows, and I'll get to the bottom of it, but in the meantime...my son can send a cloudy day far, far away and bring in sunshine, rainbows, and everything else wonderful.

Yesterday was one of those days. Long meeting after work. Kids were out of control (spring fever, anyone!?), and I was not happy on my way home, despite the wonderfully beautiful spring day.

But as I pulled in to pick up my son, everything changed. I was euphoric.

When I got home, I started making his dinner, and it got a little quiet (uh-oh!) in the other room. I went in to check on him and I saw this...



My sweet guy had gotten himself completely on his rocking horse and was going to town! It made me so happy to know how wonderfully his development is going and how lucky and happy I am that he is so healthy. (Knock on wood)

He makes me wildly happy, even on those frustrating mom days. I still am happy I get to be a mom, otherwise, I would be deprived of this tremendous love.

52 Weeks of Happiness, Week 4

I had kindof a rough start to the week work-wise. I let myself feel the bad, negative stuff, so I could purge it and start over. (After all, tomorrow IS another day.)

I LOVE to color. It's very meditative for me. I have this book and the second one, too, and on a particularly taxing day, it makes me feel better.

This week I finally purchased an app for my phone that allows you to turn pictures to black and white and then re-color in a portion. On Monday night, I had SO much fun. It was my digital coloring.

Here is one of my "masterpieces." It also includes two things which bring me intense happiness...my son and the Beatles.



I KNOW this will bring me more joy and fun (and meditation) to come!

Attitude of Gratitude

It's no secret that having a thankful heart will bring you joy. I was watching an episode of Private Practice last night called "Blind Love." I didn't get to finish it, as hubby came in and shared his happiness -- a full first draft of his Master's Thesis! WOOHOO!

Anyway, in the episode, there was a mother who was nursing a child, and the mother was blind. It made me think how tremendously grateful I am for my senses.

I am thankful for sight, so that I may see every inch of my sweet child, see his hair color, his eye color, and see if anything does not look right so as to help him immediately.

I am thankful for smell, so I may take in that natural baby smell that will disappear with time, and smell his Dreft-yummy laundry and clean washed hair. And those heavenly baby lotions...

I am thankful for taste, so I may too taste the foods I make for my son, so that I know I am giving him something worth eating! Yesterday I made him a sweet orange salad, with a homemade lime/honey dressing for avocados, quartered grape tomatoes, and mandarin oranges. It was delicious!

I am thankful for touch, because from the first time I nursed with his face against my skin I knew we were finding new ways to bond. I sometimes simply hold his face in my hands to feel his sweet baby skin. And it never gets old. I am grateful to feel new teeth coming in!

I am thankful for hearing, so I may listen to his cries to alert me of his negative emotions. So I may hear his babbling turn into words, and so I may hear the greatest sound of all...his baby laughter.

And yes, I am thankful for the sixth sense to know when he is not safe or something is wrong. I have always had that sixth sense, but a mother's sixth sense is sharper, keener, and coated with love. It is the ultimate protection sense.

For the senses, I am truly grateful.