A Few of My Favorite Things

There are lots of things that I am loving on lately.  My life right now seems as though it is one of my favorite drinks from Starbucks.  It is full, almost so full of rich, chocolate minty goodness that I can't get the lid on the cup of it, and the whipped topping of all  of the extra joys of life just push their way right through the top!  Some of the ooey, gooey goodness of life right now:

 

Sing it, Little Man, Sing it!

• The munchkin.  Oh the munchkin.  Isn't he always at the top of all of my lists?  My favorite thing about him right now is his musical abilities.  This is a kid that loves to sing.  He sings all of the time.  We wake up to him singing little tunes to himself in his crib, he sings at the dinner table, he sings in the car...it is constant and adorable. A few of his favorites lately make my heart just want to burst because it is so warm and so very proud.  He loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "I Love You Lord."  Last night at dinner he was singing "I Love You Lord" at the TOP of his lungs!  Kev and I couldn't help but smile at each other and I got this sudden vision in my head of God looking down at our dinner table with a HUGE grin on his face as our little boy sang-well, practically shouted out-"I LOVE YOU LORD AND I LIFT MY VOICE TO WORSHIP YOU!"  It was a moment that I never want to forget.  I'm working on getting him to let me record him singing some of these but he always becomes shy when I turn on the camera!
• My grade 10 students.  They are bundles of fun.  Even though sometimes they drive me crazy, overall their enthusiasm and laughter brings joy into my life every day.  They have impressed me so much as well.  I love when I can tell that a group of students has actually learned something in my classroom and these guys are showing that every day!  We are currently reading Lord of the Flies and they just finished doing a project on symbolism.  I was beyond excited about the items from the novel that they chose and the connections that they were able to make!  I almost can't wait for them to take their test tomorrow-except for the load of marking that I will have-just to see what their responses are to the in depth questions.  That, along with their crazy sense of humor and their off the wall conversations make my mornings and afternoons a joy.  I have them for two blocks because I teach them in English 10 and Planning 10.  You would think that would make for a long morning or afternoon, but with this group of students I find that it is just a whole lot of fun!
• My sweat pants.  They are truly the most comfortable pants that I have right now with my expanding belly and I wish that I could wear them all day, every day.  I got them free while I was still teaching at MEI.  They were leftover grad sweats that no one had claimed and the secretaries just gave them to me.  They are a little bit big, but right now that is not a bad thing.  I wear them every single day when I get home from work and try to wash them every few days and have them dried so they are ready for me when I get home from work the next day.  Rusty calls them "Mommy's comfy pants," and he is right!  They are the most comfortable thing I currently own.  I wish I could wear them to work.
• Our basement.  It is coming along.  I can't tell you how much this excites me!  I have visions of us, a little family, all cozied up in the family room hanging out together.  Rusty and his little sibling will be playing in the corner, Kev and I cuddled up on the couch watching the game or a TV show, all of us together in our homey room with the fire going.  (The fireplace is a future dream, but SOMEDAY!  It has a fireplace, but we want to convert it to gas, which just isn't in the budget right now.  For now we can look at the fireplace and PRETEND that there is a fire crackling in there!)  I've been scouring the Internet for color and decorating ideas, looking for slipcovers that we love for our hand me down couches and trying to think of art ideas for the walls.  I am also thrilled at the idea of having a comfortable guest room for people to stay in when they come to visit.  We made it workable when my cousin Nessa came up this summer, but hopefully by the time my little sister comes to see the baby in February the room she will stay in downstairs will be a comfortable oasis and escape for her when she needs it.  I'm still looking for ideas for color for the accent wall in that room!!!
• Christmas plans.  It seems like Christmas has hit early with a lot of my friends this year.  Just the thought of it makes me happy.  I love that holiday.  I love that it represents the birth of my Savior.  I love that it brings with it happy decorations and the smell of live trees in our houses and pretty lights on our roofs.  I love getting those delicious Christmassy drinks at Starbucks and I love thinking about my mother-in-law's shortbread cookies and how delicious they are and how I wish I could have them all year long!  I love thinking about what to get for Rusty-I already have a few things-and picking out his adorable Christmas Eve pjs that he gets to open to wear for Christmas morning.  I already found those and bought them at the Superstore the other day and they are CUTE!  I love the anticipation for the holiday this season.  I think Rusty is going to understand it more-he certainly has with other holidays this year-and watching it all through his eyes is going to be amazing.  I am excited that hopefully both of my brothers-in-law will be home and we can all be together as a family and celebrate and catch up together.  I love that my hubby and I are going to have time off of work together before the baby is born and have moments to just enjoy the two of us-since Rusty will still be in daycare most of those days we can do some of those "just the two of us"things that we probably haven't done for years!  My friend suggested a matinee movie and a long, leisurely lunch the other day when I was talking to her and the very idea of it filled that chocolate drink cup in my soul right up!  Ah, Christmas...I can't wait.  Is it time to get my tree yet?  How about now?  Maybe now?
• My Costco Ugg knockoff boots.  I just bought them a few weeks ago and they are amazing.  I had bought a pair of Ugg knockoffs SEVERAL years ago on our way to SD for Christmas.  We stopped at Walmart in Montana and realized that, duh, we were probably going to need some boots since it was snowing in SD!  I bought the Ugg knockoffs that were just $12.  They weren't that cute but they worked and I actually wore them for about 4 years.  Just a few weeks ago we were going through a box of shoes that we were storing in our family room downstairs and I found them.  I had stored them from last season and they were completely worn down, there was not a bit of tread left upon the sole.  In fact, they were probably at the point where they were dangerous.  We threw them out, but I immediately wondered what I would wear all winter long.  A few days later I was at Costco and saw that they had their brand of the Ugg knockoffs for just $40.  They were such better quality than my Walmart ones had been and when I stuck my foot into them I was sold.  They were cushy, wooly and oh so warm.  My foot felt like it was surrounded by my favorite blanket and walking on a cloud.  I bought them and have been wearing them practically nonstop ever since.  When we were in Seattle last weekend we went to Nordstrom's and I looked at the Uggs on sale there for massive amounts of cash and was so happy to see that mine were just as great, for a fraction of the price!  They are definitely going to be a staple this year...I already have tried to figure out ways that I can wear them to school.  So far my only hope has been with my yoga pants...it sounds crazy but with the right shirt it works.  Or maybe I just have no style, I don't really care, my feet are WARM and WALKING ON CLOUDS, people!  
• My husband.  I'll wrap it up with the man.  Wow, he amazes me more and more every day.  He hasn't always been what one would consider to be a handy man, but since we bought our house he is proving it more and more every day.  He works tirelessly trying to rise to the challenges before him and I love seeing his face when he has accomplished yet another "handyman" task in our house.  I think he is doing a great job with everything and I am so proud of him.  When that family room is complete he will be able to look at it with pride, knowing the part he had in making it what it is.  I also love how helpful he has been to me lately.  He always is, but he is just trying so very hard to protect me.  He wants me to be rested, to have fun with friends, to have time with Rusty, to be able to do whatever I need to to be well rested and to keep this baby healthy.  The man is sacrificing himself for our family on a daily basis, and I love knowing that my children have this amazing man of GOD to look up to as their father.  Rusty loves his dad so much, and if Kevin is not around he is always asking "Where's my daddy?"  When Kev picks him up at school every single day he announces to the entire room that "MY DADDY IS HERE!  MY DADDY IS HERE!"  Our daycare lady even loved their morning routine-patty pat hug, squeezeroo hug, nosey nose kiss, and lastly neck sugar-so much that she tried to get her own son to repeat it at home, but it was a no go.  Rusty loves his dad and his dad loves him.  Theirs is a pretty special bond...I hope that Rusty can recognize that some day.

What are some of your favorite things right now??