Things I'm Loving NOW

There is so much to love in Life when we are intentional with how we think and look at things.  So many good things to find when we slow down enough to notice the little moments, like our kids walking out the front door with their oversized backpacks and mismatched socks while  holding hands.  Or my feet next to my daughter's on our walk home from kindergarten. Not sure why it is so hard to get back to this way of thinking and seeing the world once we fall into funks and fog.  But once we do find our way back, it is worth trying to hold on to.  And so far, RUNNING AGAIN has helped me not only hold on to the good thinking but continue to look ahead to more of the good things to come.  

The more we focus on the Good stuff, the more it comes.
This morning brought with it another morning of efficiency and positive energy.  I think I'm on a roll here. Yippie! Let's see if I can keep it going.  After seeing how yesterday worked out so well, I was determined to start the day off right by getting up early enough to have ALONE time where it is just me and whatever I want to be doing.  This time usually means enjoying my coffee and focusing on the day with goals, writing an e-mail to a good friend or just sitting in silence. Starting the day with a piece to myself definitely centers me and allows me to be present and intentional with my kids when they wake up.  It is so obvious that my attitude is what drives everyone else. Unlike the recent weeks in my life where my GRUMPY/IN A FUNK meter has been set on permanent HIGH, yesterday I was full of smiles, positive energy, and uplifting/encouraging words for my kids.  I caught them making good choices and I chose to let things go that would otherwise drive me up a wall.  Instead of nagging at them about every single thing under the sun as I have been doing the past few months, I chose to relax and ENJOY them.  It was amazing how just by being more conscious and intentional with myself, how everyone else came together to do the same.  It carried over to the evening and all the way to bed.  My husband made a comment to me about it being one of the first nights in a long time when the kids weren't fighting with each other or whining for some kind of attention or over something that wasn't right.

So now, as I sit here in my dried up sweaty workout clothes at a table covered in paint, rice that was  used for a craft last night and crumbs from this morning's breakfast, I'm choosing to ignore all the things that I could be doing and take some time just for me before my designated "quiet time" is over. All this morning as I was getting kids off to school and going about my normal routines, I kept thinking about all the things I'm loving about today, this weekend coming up, and just life in general...the right now.  In the Present Moments.  So in a list and with pictures, here are a few that pop into my head:

• My running.  Today, yesterday, this week!  It just seems to be going so smoothly.  I can feel myself building fitness quickly.  And it is amazing to me how quickly my body has responded to just easy running.  Oh, and I'm back to fitting in my jeans normally again...without the button and zipper threatening to pop off.  
• YOGA today!  I had a friend who watched my daughter for a bit so that I could take the 10:00 yoga class after my run at the gym this morning.  
• That my son asks me to take him to the gym child care.  I haven't been to the gym forever but we drove by the other day and my son begged and begged to go to "his gym".  That's where I got the idea to try a yoga class.  
• A three hour date with my husband tonight with NO KIDS.  I suppose that is typically what a date means...no kids...but lately that hasn't happened as much as I'd like.  This time together is so important for us.  

• Story time with my kids after lunch today. This book, It's Christmas, David! is one of our FAVORITES to read.  David Shannon is great and his character David reminds me of my son.  A fun book to read in addition to his other David books.  Today, I stopped at each page for my kinder to read the words but my 3 year old has heard it so many times that he beat her to it and "read" it word for word from his memory.  

• Ruby Holler is the current book that I'm reading for read aloud to my daughters at night.  They are loving it and I'm enjoying reading it again.  It is a book I used to read with my students in guided reading groups or literature circles.  Good story.  And I'm loving that it is an easy enough reading level to where my 2nd grader can use it for independent reading by reading over some of the chapters that we've already read together.  Sometimes she is even so eager to find out what happens next that she reads ahead a bit.  It is still a little high of a reading level to be a true independent reading fit for her but since she hears me model the way Sharon Creech writes, it is easier for her.  

• Rice!  I guess I always knew it was always a great thing to have in sensory tables for preschools. I used it with my preschool students long long ago but I'm not sure why it took me this long to use it with my own kids.  Who cares about the mess when it buys me at least an hour at a time of having and engaged son!  And what a mess it made but for the most part, it was easy to sweep up.  It would have been much easier of a clean up if my son didn't decide that when he was finally done, he would pretend to use it as snow and try skiing in it.  Good grief, he got rice everywhere!  But now I know to limit the time I leave it out so that by the time his attention span has veered off to other things, I will have the rice out of arms reach.  Who needs expensive Christmas toys under the tree when you can just go buy some grains and legumes and wrap them up??!  
• A girl trip.  Next week I get to fly to Minneapolis, MN to see one of my best friends.  Just a short trip to do whatever we want for a couple nights...talk, laugh, watch movies in our pajamas, drink wine, go on a 12-15 mile run together, and just enjoy being together face to face instead of just e-mail.  SOUL FOOD.  

• Christmas Rocks.  We tried our first night of these Christmas/Advent Rocks last night at the dinner table and it was awesome!  Such a great family activity and I hope we can continue it all through December.  
• Concert with my husband this weekend!  For my birthday, my husband bought me tickets to see The Lumineers and this weekend is the time to celebrate.  On that note, even though I have lots of other things I'm loving right now,  I'll leave you with a video of one of the most popular song by this group. 

Happy Friday!

1.  What are some things YOU are loving lately?  

2.  Random question but I've received a few e-mails from blog readers saying that they can't comment on my blog....wondering what's up with this.  If you are a person who has tried to comment but can't, can you please send me a quick e-mail to let me know.. not sure if this is something with the blogger site or what.  Thanks a ton!  

Amanda