Day 214: All Growed Up

Little M started preschool today. He's been looking forward to this day ever since we registered Sweet P last year's preschool. So, to say he was ready is a bit of an understatement. It was so fun being with him while he got ready and counting down the two hours from when he woke up until it was time to go.

And then seeing my shy little boy so happy and confident as they all found their spots on the gathering rug. Well, it was sort of a bittersweet Joyful Moment. There's definitely a part of me that appreciates the little boy who needs me so much, but I'm also proud of him for being brave and learning and growing. And I can't say I envied the parents of the screaming children (don't worry, there were only two). But I did blink back a few of my own tears as I headed off to yoga class.

Picking him up and hearing all about the great time he had was another Joyful Moment. And then hearing him say, "I just wove my giwlfwiend", as we headed off to meet friends at the children's museum was definitely a Joyful Moment.

Not because I support him having a giwlfwiend, but just because it sounded so cute. Especially because he doesn't even know her name. And actually, just hearing him say anything involving the word "girl", is kind of Joyful Moment for me. It is so funny how he pronounces it!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments full of wove and giwfwiends!

Day 213: Smile. Giggle. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat

Yeah, today's Joyful Moment is going to have to go to Baby B.

It was a really good day full of Joyful Moments until the dreaded "violin practice time" hit. But I think my favorite Joyful Moment was more giggles and smiles from Baby B. He just can't help himself. That is what he does. I was holding him while looking up a couple phone numbers and when I looked down at him, he was just sitting there in my arms grinning from ear to ear. I have no idea how long he'd been smiling at me, but it was there for me to see as soon as I looked. And then I forgot what I was doing and just smiled back for a long long time. Well, we talked a bit, too.

Everywhere I go, people are delighted to receive the smiles he so readily delivers. And those who meet him repeatedly begin to realize that smiling is just what he does. I'm constantly being asked, "Does he smile ALL the time?"

Yes. Yes, he does.

And whenever I pick him up from the child watch center at the gym, the staff always comments on what a great baby he is. "He's our favorite baby!" and "He is the BEST baby!" are the two most common.

Yeah, I love being his mama.

Wishing you all the kind of Joyful Moments Baby B delivers!

Day 212: What DOES Heaven Smell Like?

A couple Joyful Moments to share again.

We had some new friends over for dinner tonight. The kids played together really well, which is always nice. And we had a lot of fun chatting and getting to know each other better. It was just a fun evening. It was sort of like a first date (you know how that is when you hang out with another couple for the first time) and we got the "We'd like to do this again sometime" message as the evening was winding down. So, it looks like they enjoyed themselves, too.

Score! Joyful Moment.

Earlier in the day, I finally found a moment to roast my chile peppers on the grill. Hatch green chiles, to be exact. I grew up in the Southwest. Out there during the harvest time, you'd find big huge black roasters out in front of the grocery store and you could buy the chiles like that. Here at the North Pole I was just ecstatic to find them sold in any form outside of a can at the grocery store.

So, I took on the challenge of roasting them myself. I read the instructions provided by the store and then googled and researched a bit more. I did not want to mess this up. All of the directions were pretty much the same and it seemed pretty simple, so I went to work and threw those babies on the barbie.

The one thing that all of my sources failed to inform was the smell of divinity that would emanate from my grill. Oh. My. It took me back to some distant memory, of what I'm not entirely sure, but it just smelled S.O. G.O.O.D.!

So, I called to HH to come on out and smell heaven. He walked out and took a sniff and looked fairly unimpressed. "It smells good, but not really like heaven."

And then I remembered that his upbringing did not involve a lot of spice, or anything like Hatch green chiles. I had a moment of silence and shed a tear, or two for his loss. And then I went back to the grill and sniffed away.

And then and there I knew, smelling those roasting chiles would definitely be today's Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all odoriferous Joyful Moments!

Day 211: Yogates

Today's new word is a combination of "yoga" and "soul mates". That's because HH joined me in yoga class this morning. I love yoga. I love HH. So, doing yoga with HH was a natural Joyful Moment. And two of my fellow yogis brought their husbands (HH's workout buddies). It was fun seeing our men a little out of their element.

Although, HH did so well that the instructor came up after and complimented him on how great he did for it being his first yoga class. It might have a little to do with the fact that I've taught him different poses from time to time. But he's also just one of those people who is annoyingly good at most things in life.

Good thing I love him.

And then we joined another friend at an air show. It was fun watching the planes do all their crazy stunts, but I enjoyed visiting with her and giggling with Baby B even more.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that you enjoy even more than other Joyful Moments!

Day 210: "Spin"sters

That's what you get when you combine "spin" and "sisters" (or friends who are kind of like sisters, but then that would be "spifriwakolises" and "spinsters" is much easier to pronounce).

Today's Joyful Moment was being joined by two of my friends in spin class this morning. It's just more fun that way! And I finally remembered to not get on bike #17. It's tension is super high, so it's really hard to pedal on a supposedly light setting. For whatever reason I always wind up on that bike, no matter where it is placed in the room.

But today I rode bike #3 and I was back in the game, my friends! Woohoo!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that make you want to yell "Woohoo!"

Day 209: The Little People

In My Life.

Little Man: This kid kind of takes on a new personality when his sister is gone and he has more of my attention. He's so sweet and helpful. Seriously helpful. And as always, adorable. Our conversations today were some fun Joyful Moments.

Littler Man (a.k.a. Baby B): We don't always get a lot of face time. I'm holding him almost constantly when he's awake, but he's facing out. Today, for whatever reason, we had a lot of face time. He is such a sweet, happy little guy. I love being his mama. Sharing smiles and giggles with him today were some sweet Joyful Moments.

Little Sister: I had a brief chat with my baby sister today online. About salads and pack n' plays and such. She's so funny. Chatting with her today was another fun Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all lots of big Joyful Moments with the little people in your life!

Day 208: Oh! I LOVE YOU!

So, you might have noticed, I didn't post about using my new watch on Monday. That's because I didn't quite have it figured out and I just needed my first run with it to be perfect so I could use it at its maximum potential.

That was a good sentence.

Anyway, so I was able to spend more time later Monday and a little yesterday familiarizing myself with my new pal.

And then there was today.

I ran with it.

It. Was. AWESOME!!!

I am in love with my new watch/heart rate monitor/coach/potential BFF! Love Love Love.

Love.

Wanna guess what today's Joyful Moment was?

The best run ever!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that leave people guessing!