I’ve been feeling a little restless lately and a lot grumpy. I’m anxious for upcoming Happy Things and tired of complaining about things but seemingly unwilling to actually stop complaining about things which probably makes me less than fun to be around. Sorry about that.

So because it’s Thursday and Chookooloonks demands it, today I am going to try and focus on The Happy – the things I loooooove with puffy hearts even when I feel like my head is about to explode from the whiny and the cranky.

• salted caramel hot cocoa which I first discovered at Starbucks but quickly implemented at home for ridiculously cheap. I recommend Smucker’s caramel sauce as the bottle is much nicer and squeezable than the Hershey’s counterpart. Just make a cup of cocoa, add whipped cream and drizzle some caramel. Sprinkle some sea salt or kosher salt on top and enjoy.
• playing Forty Thieves at the Games that Give website – because if I’m going to waste time playing games online, it may as well be for a good cause.
• My husband who is amazing and supportive and spoils me like crazy even when I’m not acting very deserving of it.
• My kids. They drive me crazy sometimes, often lately, but they are so adorable and smart and loving. MM is becoming this little creative artistic wonder kid and he’s so clever and interested in learning to read and write everything. He’s a little too addicted to the television some days for my liking but he’s such a good natured kid and infinitely patient with his mommy.
• Little BB is growing up so fast and she’s got us all wrapped around our finger. She’s pushing limits right now, trying to find trouble wherever she can but honestly I’m so impressed with how much she’s grown, how good at walking she is now and my gosh how agile for her age. She is a mover and a shaker that one, and we are all in for it.
• My new Kindle which is so purty and I don’t give myself nearly enough time to play with it as Quality Reading Time always seems to end up on the back burner, especially during the day.
• My novel which is going pretty awesome so far. I am very close to the 20,000 word mark which is pretty impressive in my mind. I’m not 100% happy with it so far but I think it would be weird if I was and I do like a good portion of it a lot. I will be beyond thrilled if I actually finish this thing, whether it’s any good or not, it will be such an improvement over all of my previous attempts at writing (i.e. all that unfinished stuff).
• The holidays are just around the corner and I have a lot to look forward to. We are blessed to have such amazing family and friends and most especially each other.
• Apparently in April we will likely be buying a house and if that doesn’t make me happy, I don’t know what will!

What’s making you happy today?

Yesterday was a mixed bag kind of day. On the one hand, my husband woke up sick, the kids barely napped and we spent about five hours trying to keep them well behaved while getting the house inspected and signing a lot of paperwork at the bank.

On the other hand, getting the house inspected and signing paperwork at the bank put us two steps closer to actually getting this house – and that is a very good thing. We also got a fantastic CSA crop (pretty purple beans, carrots, basil, red baby potatoes, squash and zucchini – yum!) and the hubby took me to Culvers after our bank meeting and I got a strawberry milkshake. Very good things.

Today Dan is back at work, luckily starting to feel better, and I’ve got fresh produce to cook in my future and potential sub-letters to contact. Wish me luck on both accounts! Meanwhile, here are ten things in no particular order that I love. Feel free to play along on your own blog – and definitely head to the comments section below and ruminate on some of my questions in bolded brackets throughout the post.

1. Gorgeous pillowy clouds rolling around in crisp blue skies on a warm summer day, with just enough of a breeze hopefully to keep me from melting into the sidewalk.
2. The smell of fresh herbs in a canvas bag along with delicious looking, mouth watering produce – adventures in cooking awaiting me. Perfect for my week with no recipes – which I’ll be blogging more about later, I promise.
3. The devilish look my daughter gives before crawling at lighting speed towards the staircase at our potential future home. There was no learning curve for this one in regards to stair climbing – apparently she knows how to make her way up those stairs instinctively. We are in trouble.
4. The sweet, spicy flavor of rhubarb pie – also known as my new favorite dessert. Preferably served with a scoop of ice cream and some whipped cream of course. [What is your favorite dessert food? Pick your indulgence.]
5. Rustic but classically chic wooden furniture that looks like furniture and not particle board or whatever fake, sleek “not really wood” stuff that you find in modern furniture. I am infatuated with this desk at IKEA right now. It would look so cute in our future office!
6. Ridiculously silly, brilliantly made kids shows that the whole family is not so secretly smitten with. Namely, Phineas and Ferb. [Any other fans? What is your favorite TV show - kids shows or grown up?]
7. Being able to give away 10 copies of a book that I am infatuated with and think everyone – everyone – should read. If you haven’t entered to win a copy of Eating For Beginners yet, you really really really should. I cannot say enough good things about this book – it seriously is that good.
8. Rocking out in the car to irresistibly fun and dancey music like Kesha, Black Eyed Peas or Lady Gaga. I need to add some of their music to my CD collection soon. [What music have you been loving lately? If you could buy one CD - what would you get?]
9. Iced sweet tea on a hot day. We’ve also been doing a lot of iced tea mixed with lemonade – a combination which can turn any lackluster lemonade or iced tea into something spectacular.
10. The excitement of summer weekends. That thing in the air that makes you head out into the world in search of beaches, local fairs, bbqs, camp grounds and anything else you can think of to make summer memories that last. [What's the best thing your family has done so far this summer? What are you looking forward to?]

chookooloonks is the brilliant mastermind behind love thursday. make sure you check out her blog for more thoughts on all things love.

I’ve had a mild case of the bah humbugs lately. Bloggy blahs, allergy “why me’s,” bad mommy moments galore, grumpy frumpies and the like. I know it happens to the best of us, but little by little I’m becoming bad company – I wouldn’t be surprised if Dan skips to car in the morning, thrilled to be rid of me (I kid, I think…) at last. I know I wouldn’t mind being rid of me sometimes. And I know most of the blahs in my mind these days are just that… in my mind. Cause I’ve got it pretty good. I think it’s time to dwell on the positive for a moment, in memeish fashion of course.

1. Yesterday MM got a lot of birthday well wishes from family and friends. Phone calls from my family and Dan’s really made his afternoon – when his grammy called, I put the phone on speaker phone (so I’ll know if he’s holding them captive and they are begging to hang up already!) and she immediately burst into song when he said hello with a rousing “Happy Birthday To You…” and he was just floored. Like it was the best thing that had ever happened in his entire life and she was the most amazing person ever for thinking of it. I just love how he is so young still that these seemingly everyday and common place things like The Happy Birthday Song are a new, amazing thing still. He thought it was so good that he sang it back to her, too, and made everyone else there sing it, too.
2. Today in a fit of pure genius, I pulled out a baby gate and stuck it at one of the entrances to the kitchen. She has this annoying habit of climbing into the dishwasher when I’m trying to empty or fill it but I’ve avoided the baby gates because I kept thinking maybe we don’t really really need them and how much work will they be to put up, and am I making more trouble for myself than necessary. I have a tendency to go overboard with things like baby proofing (ask my friends about the old toilet lock) but within seconds of putting it up, I knew. It was just the right thing for this problem. It was perfect – and it fit the doorway like it was MADE to be there. Plus I’m feeling all proud and handy for putting it up myself, not that it was terribly difficult, but you know…
3. Speaking of things I should have done awhile ago, Tuesday I moved MM into his own bedroom, in the old toy room. I liked the idea of the kids sharing a bedroom and having a separate room just for toys but then trying to get the baby to sleep through the night was so not happening because I couldn’t seem to justify letting her “cry it out” with MM right next to her. Having them in separate rooms I think will fix this problem much quicker. As for the toys, well I decided that lots of kids have toys in their bedrooms and although I’m sure he will get out of bed sometimes to play, he’s a kid and I need to let go sometimes and let him be a kid. And today when I asked him to clean his room before watching tv, he did a fantastic, thorough job and I was so proud. I think mommy needs to start letting go of some of her control issues and start giving him more responsibility.
4. My husband. I sometimes say it a lot, and sometimes not enough, but ladies let me be frank when I say that I won the Awesome Husband Jackpot. My man.. he’s just incredible. He puts up with the mood swings, he chips in more than his fair share sometimes, he is so smart and so funny and he always seems to know what I am needing and supports me 100%. He makes me breakfast every morning, fixes my computer whenever it has it’s hourly brain fart and he encourages me to be a better me – and assures me it’s okay when I’m less than great. He’s the cheese in my macaroni.
5. When I moved to Wisconsin one of the things I missed the most was my favorite brand of chips – Wachusett Sour Cream and Onion. I know it seems silly, but no other brand can compare – the perfect ruffled, seasoned, inexpensive bag of chips, they are ridiculously addictive. I searched far and wide, tried a lot of different kinds of chips but just… nothing. But then we started shopping at Aldi and I discovered Clancy’s Barbecue potato chips. Ridiculously cheap like all Aldi products and while they are really nothing like the Wachusett Sour Cream and Onion they have that same just right quality. I am smitten. They are my Wisconsin Chips. I love them.

What 5 things are you loving right now?

…love thursday is the brainchild of chookooloonks. head to her blog for more thoughts on  love…

MM has had a small head cold for a couple days now. It mostly consists of a couple coughs and sniffles and the announcement that he’s “just going to rest on the couch for awhile.” He seems to find such great joy in snuggling up with a blanket and pillow to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that I am starting to suspect it might be a “pretend” cold but you know what? I don’t really mind. It’s calm moments like this one (in between jumping around like an over-sugared Ferret) that just make you catch your breath and say, “Remember this.”

Moments like this when I try to breathe in their cuteness and commit to memory their “now”-ness so later I can remember when BB was so little she couldn’t quite crawl (not that it stops her from getting around) and MM was the proudest big brother. He is worshiped by that little sister of his. I wouldn’t be surprised if his name is her first word. She can be in the middle of the biggest hissy fit and he’ll walk up to her and say nothing in particular and she’s at peace, cooing for all the world to see.

Three has been a tough year for all of us. A lot of tantrums – a lot of changes. We could all use to “just sit down and rest” these days. But I know I’ll be missing these days before I know it.

For more posts on love head over to chookooloonks, home of Love Thursday.