Thursday, May 28, 2009

10 Things Thursday

10 things I will do each day before I turn on the computer...

1. Pray
2. Read one chapter from the Bible
3. Kiss my husband
4. Hug my children
5. Read to Jules
6. Spend time outside
7. Clean one room of the house
8. Cross two things off my to do list
9. Drink at least two glasses of water
10. Eat at least one piece of fruit

This list came from the fact that over the last few weeks I have realized how much time I spend on the computer and it is entirely too much. Some of the things on this list have been getting neglected because of it. So each day I will do the 10 things on this list before I even turn the computer on. And I will limit my computer time. And have two days a week that I am unplugged with no computer. All things in moderation. Even blogging.

Numbers 6 and 8 on the list led to this today. My little rock garden.

There are flower seeds planted in the pots. Not just dirt. :)

And this one is for Marmie.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Cat Name Update

Last night, the boys had pretty much decided on Jack and Socks for the cat's names. Then Arrty mentioned that Jack sounds an awful lot like Jake, the dog's name. Adam agreed, so he started again to think of names since he had the job of naming the boy cat. This morning he asked me for ideas so I told him to think of book or movie characters that he liked and maybe that would help. Right away he thought of Luke (as in Skywalker). Then he said, "Luke and Leia. We should name them Luke and Leia!" I thought those names were perfect and told him so. He was very excited, but we still had to get the okay from the rest of the family. Arrty liked it, but Josh was reluctant. He was determined that the girl cat should be called Socks because she has white paws. We discussed it and he agreed, but not happily. I told him that we wanted everyone to be happy, so to just think it over. Arrty later reminded him that Luke and Leia in the Star Wars Movies were orphans and had to be adopted. Just like we had adopted the cats. Josh is very sentimental and family oriented and so that fact sealed it. He then happily agreed that Luke and Leia were perfect names.

So there you have it. Our cats are named Luke Jack and Leia Socks. (Yes, our cats have middle names.)

Friday, May 22, 2009

Today in the news...The demise of Moleville.

First, let me say that I am not a cat person. Frankly, I'm not an animal person. Don't get me wrong. I love, well at least like, Jake, our huge chocolate lab. He is sweet and loves the boys and barks when strangers come. I just don't want him to lick me. Or jump up on me. Or chew on my shoes. Or get hair all over the house. So Jake lives outside. He comes in some during the winter. But he is definitely an outdoor dog. And I tolerate the turtle who lives in the basement. He's quiet and doesn't eat much. And I don't even really mind the mealworms who are metamorphosing into darkling beetles in the hall closet or the snail and centipedes and caterpillars in bug boxes in the living room. And I even kind of like the minuscule sea monkeys just beginning to grow in their tank on my bookshelf.

But still, I'm not an animal person. And I especially don't like the moles who have taken over our yard. When the snow melted this spring, it was discovered that last year's moles were still around and had brought friends. Lots of friends. They had all begun transforming our yard into Moleville complete with malls and condos and trails leading to each other's houses. So we decided that we should get a cat to roam around outside and catch the moles. Or at least chase them to the neighbors' yards. We have been talking about it for weeks. So yesterday when Arrty got off work, I convinced him to take us to the local shelter. So we went in and there in cages, were all kinds of cats. Old cats, kittens, sleeping cats, active cats, friendly cats, hissing cats. Now, we have never owned a cat. So we had no idea about anything to do with them. I fully admit that the kittens were cute and the boys were instantly drawn to them. But I had to remind myself why we were there. For a mouser, not a lap cat. So I avoided the kittens and looked at the older cats.

There were a few that had signs that said "sensitive stomach." I didn't think they would be very fond of moles and mice. There were a few with signs that said, "caution." Not good for my animal loving children. So I looked for help. One of the ladies who worked there asked what we were looking for and I told her. She then took us to meet Ronnie. Ronnie is an 11 year old, big orange cat. He was owned by a family that she knew. The wife had died and the husband moved to Alaska and couldn't take Ronnie. He is an outdoor cat who had lived on a golf course. His story made me sad. To see him there in the cage probably missing his owners. But as much as I liked him, we still needed a mouser, not an old cat to lay on the porch. (If you want a cat, go get Ronnie. He needs a home.)

So we kept looking. As we walked down the aisle, Julianna was looking at all the cats and pointing and talking to them. When we got to one cage, she leaned in and was especially vocal. The cat in that cage came right over and put her paw up for Jules to touch. I was sold. She had sweet eyes and meowed quietly at us. So I asked the cat guy about her. He told us that she had come in as a kitten with her mother and 10 siblings. The price to adopt her was discounted which I took to mean that her time was almost up. There were two of her brothers left, too. One in the cage under her and one in the cage to the right. "Well," I told my reluctant husband, "If we get two, they would have company outside and could catch twice as many moles." He gave me "the look." But he looked at the brothers. One was gray and very hairy and kind of fat. The other looked much like his sister except with longer hair.

We looked some more. I went back to see Ronnie. Then back to the sister and brothers. Then back to Ronnie. Then to a few others. But we kept coming back to White Sox, the sister who liked Jules, and Yankees, the brother to the right. Arrty said that we couldn't get Yankees because, well, he was named Yankees. (The other brother was Astros. Apparently they had all been named after baseball teams.) But even with that name, Arrty seemed to like Yankees. "What should we do?" he asked me. "Well," I said, "we've been talking about it for a while. We might as well do it today." Mostly because I knew that the boys would be so disappointed if we didn't go home with a cat that day. So we made a decision. We were going to adopt White Sox and Yankees. The boys were thrilled. Even though they weren't cute little kittens. They were cats after all, and they've been wanting a cat for "years" as Josh said. So I went up to do paperwork and they got the cats ready to go complete with an identification chip.

It cost $42.50 each, reduced from the normal $65 fee. But taking into consideration that they have had all their shots, have been spayed/neutered, have the chip, and come with a free vet visit, that's a pretty good deal. Still, as I filled out the pages of paperwork, I thought, "Cats? Really? Cats?" But then, I saw the paper that said "adoption price reduced." And I got this warm feeling about saving these cats. Rescuing them after 11 months of being in the shelter. I admit that it felt good. So good, in fact, that I felt bad about not taking home more pets. Like Ronnie. Or the other brother. Or the cute little black lab puppies in the next room. But two cats was already more than we had planned on.

So we came home last night with two cats. So far they have mostly hidden under chairs. But I keep reminding the boys, and myself, that it must be hard for them to leave the only life they've ever known. To move into a house with people. To not being in a cage surrounded by other cats and barking dogs. We'll give them a few days and hopefully they'll love us as much as we, yes, I said "we," love them.

So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to our family mousers.



And to keep with family tradition, they do not have names yet. It's down to these options. Bonnie and Clyde, Fred and Ginger, Jack and Jill, or Jack and Socks. The boys get to pick and they are leaning toward Jack and Socks.

I never thought I'd be an animal advocate, but if you are thinking of getting a pet, please visit your local shelter. There are so many animals who need good homes. And if you live in North Idaho... GO GET RONNIE!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

10 Things Thursday

The last 10 songs heard on our cd player...

1. Don't Stop Believin'--Journey
2. Does Your Mother Know--Mamma Mia soundtrack (Christine Baranski)
3. Big Ol' Truck--Toby Keith
4. Holy, Holy, Holy--Mark Tindle (mountain dulcimer)
5. In The City--Eagles
6. We'll Burn That Bridge--Brooks and Dunn
7. The Difference--Rescue
8. Again--Brooks and Dunn
9. Can't Get This Stuff No More--Van Halen
10. Winter--Antonio Vivaldi

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Busy Bees

This past weekend was a busy one. Very busy. Here's what happened.

Friday morning I made breakfast for the family (eggs, English muffins, bacon, sausage, strawberries). Then I frosted 20 cupcakes and finished gathering birthday party stuff. Then I got myself and all the kids bathed, dressed, and ready to head in to town. And wrapped two of Adam's birthday presents. And cleaned the kitchen. And then it was time for lunch. Fed the family lunch (leftover Chinese food). Skipped lunch myself to finish getting ready. Cleaned the kitchen--again. Loaded the van and headed into town.

Friday afternoon we dropped off the lemon bars that I had made for the school auction and while we were there, I laminated the Pokemon bingo cards for the birthday party. Then we went to the park to set up for the party. When people started arriving, the kids played on the playground until everyone got there. Then we played a few games, ate cupcakes, and watched Adam open his gifts. Then some more playground time. I love park parties because there is very little clean up. And the kids have a great time. The weather was good, too, which was great. A little breezy, but warm enough. Which was good, because last October at Josh's party we all froze. Which is not as fun.

Pokemon cupcakes Party fun.Make a wish!

After the party, we went directly back to the school for the auction. We ate dinner (fish and chips) and started checking out the silent auction stuff. They had tons of great stuff. Josh spotted a sports basket right away and asked me to bid on it. (Actually, he asked me what our number was so that he could bid on it. I knew that could be trouble, so I had to set some bidding ground rules. Rule #1--ask mom first.) Adam found two toy dragons that he liked and asked me to bid on them. So I bid on those two things along with a few others, but auctions make me a little nervous with all the outbidding and rebidding. Luckily there wasn't too much of that going on with the items I was bidding on. Here's what we went home with. The sports basket for Josh, the dragons for Adam, a polar bear basket for Jules, a box of sugar cookies (which I unknowingly outbid my sister on but shared with her later), two movie tickets, a Mexican food gift card and free babysitting for me, and a certificate for working with the fish and game department to catch, tag and release ducks and other water fowl (thanks to Adam and Ada). The auction was a success for the school and fun for everyone there. We got home that night at about 10:00pm.

Mirror Lake

Saturday was the day of the First Annual Family Fishing Derby. The boys had gone home with mom on Friday night and they had all headed up to Mirror Lake early to get a head start on the fishing. Pappy, Grandma, Josh, Adam, and Aidan had caught 6 fish by the time me, Arrty, Julianna, Ada, Adam, and Abby got there at lunch time. We ate sandwiches and chips and Gogurts and string cheese and strawberries and sugar cookies. The boys looked for snakes and frogs and turtles, but only found turtles. We laughed the first of the many laughs of the day. Ada, Adam, and Aidan then decided to take the boat out to try their hand at fishing. After a while they came back with a sleeping boy and a picture of one fish. (Not the real thing because that would have meant that Ada with her sleeping cutie, would have had to get off the live well to put it in.) Then it was my boys' turn to fish. To be fair, they were out on the lake much longer than anyone else. And they were all three fishing. And Josh could happily fish all day from dawn to dusk. So, they came back with the six fish caught earlier in the day and 13 more. So, we were the winners of the Family Fishing Derby 2009. (I hear next year there are going to be tee shirts.)

Mirror Lake is where they filmed part of the movie Dante's Peak. They built this cabin for the movie and then gave it to the lady who owns the property and still lives there.

Pappy and Abby

And since my sister handed out her own awards, I thought I would do the same.

Best catchphrase--Pappy (all you need to know is that it started out, "hoochie coo, hoochie coo."
Best future use of catchphrase--Adam R.
Funniest without meaning to be--Grandma
Stickman in the making--Arrty
Most determined fisherman--Josh
Best fisherman without really trying--Adam D
Best reading material that never got read--Jen (so what if I like vampire books)
Best heart attack inducing moment--Ada
Best nap of which the rest of us were jealous--Aidan
Cutest legs ever--Abby
Best at staying awake even though she really needed a nap--Jules

And a special award goes to Pappy for being the Memory Maker Extraordinaire

Catch of the day!

Julianna was here.

We got home that evening at about 6:00. The boys cleaned the fish while I put the picnic stuff away. Then I fried the fish and they ate the fish. Then I cleaned the kitchen and got Julianna ready for bed and the boys showered and ready for bed. Then I sat down on the couch and sighed. And watched SNL that we had dvred.

Sunday was Sunday with church and lunch at KFC. (Free dinners for all of us. I love free stuff.) We then went over to mom and dad's to pick up Adam's new gorilla Webkinz that he had left there the day before. Which had led to tears the night before. They were working in the garden and invited the boys to stay and help. Which they readily agreed to. They love working in the garden. I think it's mostly because it's actually more like playing in dirt. We picked them up Sunday evening and went back to church for a showing of the movie Fireproof. We had seen it before, but wanted to go anyway to support others. We got home a little after 8:00 to turn on the tv and see that we were missing the season finale of Survivor. Luckily the dvr caught it and was recording. So we stayed up until after 11:00 watching that. I love it when the person I want to win wins.

Then all of a sudden it was Monday. I gave the boys the day off from school for Adam's birthday. Then we took him to dinner at Red Lobster (his choice). He had snow crab legs. They sang Happy Birthday to him and gave him a caramel sundae complete with a candle. I think he loved the attention even though he pretended not to.

The birthday boy.

Mmmm. Crab legs.

Julianna knows the camera has buttons. And she loves buttons.


So it was a busy weekend (and Monday). Busy, but wonderfully so. It made me look forward to lots of other summer weekends full of family and fun.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Happy Birthday, Adam D



Today my baby turns 8. When I called him my baby yesterday, he reminded me that he isn't a baby. And I know that. But then I informed him that he will always be my baby. Even when he has his own babies, he will still be my baby. So today my middle baby turns 8.

I remember like it was yesterday the day he was born. His delivery was scheduled so I slept some the night before, got up and took a shower, and headed to the hospital feeling nothing by excited to meet my new son. We were checked in at about 5:30 am and he was born at 7:50. The first thing I asked after they said, "He's out," is, "Does he have hair?" Not, "Does he have all his fingers and toes?" Not, "Is he okay?" But, "Does he have hair?" Arrty said that he did. But when I finally got to see the top of his tiny little head, he didn't. At least not a lot. Just some very blond fuzz. No hair.

I fell in love with him the moment I saw his blue eyes and sweet pink cheeks. (Actually I had been falling in love with him for nine months.) Those first few days with him in the hospital were amazing. He was so little and cuter than cute. He slept and ate. And slept and ate. He liked to eat. One of my very favorite memories with Adam came in those first days. I was nursing him when all of a sudden, he froze. I looked down at him and his eyes were huge. Then all of a sudden he started nursing faster. My milk had come in that very moment and he seemed happily surprised. The look on his face is something I will never forget.

Since that first day, this little person has grown to be almost as tall as me. He has made me laugh more than anyone else. He has made me wonder where in the world he came from and how I got that kid. You know. The kid who is silly beyond measure. Who loves fun more than anything. Who can go from laughing to crying in a mere instant. Adam is unexplainable. I can tell you that he is generous. He is a mediator. He is a thinker. He loves his family. He is very smart and very, very funny. He is, and always has been, cute as a button. But he is also someone who you have to know to even begin to understand. And if you do know him, you are blessed. And I am extremely blessed to be his mom.

So today, on his 8th birthday, I am going to watch him and smile and remember all the days leading up to this day. And look forward to all the days to come.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

10 Things Thursday

10 (of the bazillion) things on my list to do today...

1. teach school to the boys...
2. ...while trying to keep up with Miss Julianna who has begun taking steps!!!
3. make 2 batches of lemon bars for the school auction
4. artistically arrange those lemon bars on pretty plates so that they sell for a million bucks
5. make cupcakes for Adam's birthday party which is tomorrow
6. decorate cupcakes to look like Pokeballs
7. gather all the stuff for the party which is at the park
8. cook a turkey that has been thawing in my fridge
9. then make hot turkey sandwiches for dinner
10. watch the 2 hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

Not Me Monday

Not Me Monday was created by MckMama. You are supposed to write about things that you did NOT do (but you totally did) over the last week.

It was NOT ME who bought six really cool baskets at Sears that I really don't need but bought anyway because they were on clearance. (Who can pass up a $15 basket for only $2.50?!?!)

And it was not me who then went back the next day to buy two more baskets for my mom and sister for mother's day instead of giving them the ones I had already bought.

It was not me who suggested that since we were 15 minutes late for Bible class that we skip it and go to the park instead. And then it was not me who forgot a disk for my camera and had to run into Target before church to get one and made us get there just in the nick of time anyway.

It was not me who judged other mothers for the behavior of their daughters at an event I attended. I would never judge other mothers. No, not me. But if Julianna ever acts like that, I'll...

It was not me who let my sons have McDonald's ice cream cones for lunch on Saturday. Furthermore, it was not me who ate one, too.

It is not me who didn't yet tell the boys that we aren't homeschooling next year. Because it's not me who is afraid they will declare mutiny. And because it's not me who is dreading leaving my sweet daughter for only a few hours each day even though she will be with my sister and equally sweet niece.

It's not me who scheduled Adam and Julianna's birthday parties after declaring to my husband that I was planning them without trying to consult everyone about when they would be able to come like I did last year which did not cause me a huge headache. And it's not me who now feels guilty because some people can't make it to Julianna's very first birthday party.

And last, but not least, it was not me who let my adorable daughter crawl around wearing her pajamas like a cape because she wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get them all the way on. And then it was not me who laughed at her when she got her pajama leg stuck on the foot rest handle of the lazy boy when she tried to crawl between it and the end table. And I would never ever consider putting her back in that uncomfortable spot just so that I could take a picture. Nope, NOT ME!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day. As I sat in the park this afternoon with my mom, and my sister who is a mom, watching our kids play in the sunshine, I couldn't imagine anywhere I'd rather be. Or any blessing greater than being a mom. I was thinking about how I was never one of those girls who planned my family and picked out names for my children. (Which is good, otherwise my children would be Fonzie, Richie, and Pinky Tuscadaro.) I was married for six years before I even thought of having kids. When I was pregnant, I was thrilled and loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute. Then I was pregnant again and had two babies. And I loved that. Then all of a sudden I had two school aged boys. And I loved that. Then, out of the blue, I had another baby in my heart. And then in my belly. And then in my arms. And today she crawled around on a blanket in the park and walked around and around me holding on to my shirt and danced to the music being played by the orchestra. And as I took pictures of her sweet face and the sweet faces of my sons and my nephew and my niece, I thought of what a blessing they each were today. And the blessings they will be in all the years to come.


And in honor of Mother's Day, I thought I would introduce you to the ones who call me "mommy."

This is Josh.
And this is Adam. And this is Julianna.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

10 Things Thursday

Ten reasons why I'm getting a new microwave today...

1. The old one quit working yesterday. (It's only the second one I've worn out in 16 years of marriage.)

2. I am having to reheat things in the oven which takes so much longer.

3. Adam thought that we could only eat cold food from now on.

4. I never remember to thaw things ahead of time and always have to use auto defrost.

5. I had to make the kid's quesadillas on the stove last night and burnt the first one. That never happens in the microwave.

6. Even though I darned socks last week, I'm not so good at channeling my inner Caroline Ingalls by having to cook the old fashioned way. (I know, I know. My flat topped stove and self cleaning oven are not the old fashioned way, but you get the point.)

7. You never know when you might have to suddenly heat up leftover pizza.

8. Someone else in the family might want seconds at dinner after I've already put the food away and he'll refuse to let me use the oven to heat it up. (Not naming any names.)

9. So that I can remind Arrty yet again that, "If it involves heat, it IS cooking."

10. Microwave popcorn. Enough said.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Aha!

Things I've learned today...

Julianna thinks that when she is done eating, her leftovers go on the floor.

Little chunks of banana hitting the floor make more noise than you'd think.

The diaper I changed this morning was worse than the one daddy said was the worst one he'd ever seen...according to Adam.

Two little boys who are homeschooled will work twice as hard when they aren't allowed to watch tv, go outside, or play video games until school is done. (It only took me 147 days to learn this.)

You can bid on something on ebay and be instantly outbid. Don't these people have jobs?!?!

Julianna likes ketchup. Especially when she finds it on Adam's plate after lunch and no one notices her little hands in it until it's all over her, the floor, and daddy's chair.

Ketchup is hard to clean off daddy's chair.

You can reheat mac and cheese in the oven...when you have to because your microwave IS NOT working.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

The More, The Merrier!

Yesterday I had three new commenters on my post. It was really exciting to know that I had new people stopping by my blog thanks to Not Me Monday. So, this morning I went to my stat counter to see how many people had visited yesterday. The answer...153. One hundred fifty three!! That easily triples my previous highest number of daily visitors! Now I know that there are bloggers, even some I know, who get that many every hour or minute, but to me 153 is very exciting. Now I just hope a few of them keep coming over.

In other news, Happy Cinco de Mayo. Which means, to this Irish girl, that we are eating Mexican food at family dinner tonight. And it means that I am attempting to make enchiladas to contribute to said dinner for the very first time today. Wish me luck. Or maybe you should wish my family luck. They'll be the ones eating them. :)

Monday, May 04, 2009

Not Me Monday

Not Me Monday was created by MckMama and I've wanted to do it for a long time but have never tried it. You are supposed to write about things that you did NOT do (but you totally did) over the last week. So here goes my first attempt.

I did NOT make sloppy joes this week for the very first time in almost 17 years of marriage. And my family did NOT love them.

I did NOT spend my time in Bible class yesterday making a list of possible blog ideas. And the whole list of ideas did NOT revolve around my children.

I did NOT take a nap yesterday afternoon instead of cleaning the kitchen. And I then did NOT spend the rest of the afternoon playing with my kids and still not clean the kitchen.

I did NOT venture for my first ever visit to ebay on Saturday and then spend 2 hours looking for Pokemon stuff for Adam's upcoming birthday.

I did NOT then spend another hour on the computer playing Chuzzle and Zuma.

I did NOT rock Julianna to sleep in the cry room at church and then, instead of going back in to listen to the sermon, sit there with my chin resting on her little head enjoying the feeling of my almost one year old snuggled on my lap.

I did NOT let Julianna pull a dozen wipes from the pack and I certainly did NOT then let her play with them for a lot longer than I thought she would. And there's is NO way that I then put one on my head and let her pull it off over and over and over just to hear her giggle.

I did NOT let the boys go fishing with their Pappy on Friday instead of doing school and I did NOT try to figure out what I could count that for in their curriculum. So of course, I did NOT give them an hour of science time for said fishing trip.

I did NOT buy People magazine just because it was the 100 most beautiful people issue. And I did NOT wonder how Jane Doe* made it into the issue. (*Name changed to protect the innocent.)

I did NOT, nor would I ever, let Julianna taste my Diet Coke. (Settle down, it was just a tiny taste and to be honest, I think she backwashed. That'll teach me.)

Share your own "not me" in the comments if you want. Or...

You can participate in Not Me Monday on your blog. Just follow the link to MckMama to find out how.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

11 and counting

If you notice on Julianna's birthday countdown ticker to the left, she is 11 months old today. Which means a few things.

One, she's almost a year old! For almost a year I have had a daughter. I have watched her change from this tiny little stranger into a sweet, funny, active, baby who I feel like I've known forever.

Two, she's on the move. She is starting more and more to let go of the furniture or her brothers and stand on her own for a few seconds or take an unaided step toward me.

Three, I haven't taken nearly enough pictures of her. There are lots, but is there really ever enough?

Four, I need to make some hair decisions for her. Bangs or none? Part or no part? Short or long? I need help here. I never had this problem with the boys.

Five, I have officially decided to give up on her ever using a pacifier. I have tried every kind they make and she just swings it around or hits it on things or chews on the wrong side or throws it behind her crib. At least I won't have to worry about getting rid of it.

Six, I need to start letting her feed herself with a spoon. She prefers finger foods that she can eat by herself, but eventually, like by her first date, she will need to know how to properly use silverware.

Seven, it's time to go through her clothes again to see what she's outgrown. Hopefully she can wear the especially cute outfits one more time.

Eight, birthday party details need to be completed so that I can begin the task of preparation for the all important first birthday.

Nine, I really have to find what I want to get her for her birthday online since I can't find it in town. It's one of those dolls with the button and zipper and shoe to tie. You know the one. Oh, and don't tell her what she's getting. :)

Ten, she is starting to talk. She says "mama" and "dada" and "Mother, could you please ask your sons to refrain from exasperating me." Okay, she really doesn't say the last one, but you know she thinks it!

And eleven, Julianna being 11 months old means that time is going too fast. Just way too fast.

Friday, May 01, 2009

10 Things...Friday

10 things that made me smile yesterday...

1. Julianna reaching her little arms for me when I went to get her out of her crib first thing in the morning
2. Josh saying, "Thanks for teaching me how to make scrambled eggs, mom."
3. Adam reading 120 words per minute when the highest scale for his grade level is 92 words per minute.
4. my dad's email about his new birthday socks
5. sunshine
6. Jason Mraz songs
7. seeing a 12 year old girl wearing two different color shoes...on purpose
8. being told by perfect strangers how beautiful my daughter is
9. tiny, little jeans with butterflies embroidered on the pocket
10. Mallo Cups