Things to Smile About: Snowy Sick Week Edition

Well after Thursday's discouragement  the healthy thing to do is rack my brain and find a few things to be happy about right? (Hey, I'm nothing if not predictable.)

1.) My painful ribs are feeling better every day. Except for a few really sore hours yesterday, and some trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep, and when I change positions or cough -- okay suddenly that seems not so great -- but really my ribs are doing better. Really. (Likewise, Mark is also doing just fine after whatever he reacted to on Wednesday.)

2.) Last weekend I got to go to a baby shower for my Furman friend Katie, and our friend Betsy was also there and also pregnant, and it made me happy to hang out with sweet friends about to embark on the whole mommy thing.

(Also this is the only time in our lives that I have ever or will ever had a smaller tummy than these two, so there's that.)

3.) I dyed some burp cloths and I felt very crafty. (You know those white Gerber-type prefold cloth diapers? Those are the best burp cloths. I mean, they make others, but they suck. These old-school cloth diapers are the only way to go. I don't know any parent who doesn't love them. Not any. But since everyone uses them, they get lost or mixed up easily in places like church nurseries, so some in different colors or with different fabric or ribbon or embroidery touches make it easier to spot in a crowd whose are whose -- the stack of bright tie-dyed ones Ashley and John made for Charlotte are still awesome. Anyway it's become my go-to useful baby present.)

4.) Mark found me this coffee I had searched for everywhere online, to no avail, because apparently the company had changed names. But he found it! And I woke up to it on Valentine's Day and it was just one of those perfectly thoughtful things that keeps making me smile. (Way better than a picture of flowers, right?) (Yep, gotta mention it every year.)

5.) Nathan has been reading his Uncle Brad's favorite childhood book and loving it. So many sweet memories every time I read it with him. I do the animal noises just like my mom did, in case you were curious. Her way was and is the right way. Not negotiable. I'm just sayin'...

6.) We made valentiney sprinkle bagels. The bagel place Anneliese and I went to on Thursday in the hopes of pink bagels was out of said pink bagels. But later at home, I put some sprinkles on a regular bagel for her.

It was amusing how shocked and delighted she was that I would be so silly and naughty. (Note to self: stop being such a hardass. Your kids like it when you relax.)

7.) Yesterday it was springy and warm enough to wear shorts. Yay southern weather in February.

8.) Then today it snowed all day. Which for some reason... also makes me happy? It's pretty and didn't stick, so I kind of liked it. (Sunday morning update: it stuck! Look at our pretty snowy house!)

(The roads are still clear, so it's still a win.)

9.) Three new episodes of Daniel Tiger this week! Even Charlotte will sit and snuggle with me while we watch. Or, be distracted by self-pics on the phone. Either way, it's a happy smiley thing.

10.) I swear I will write a post about St Croix and get pictures posted soon, because what's a better mood boost than that?