favorite things

When I'm having a blah day (like today) and get easily riled by small annoyances (like today), I try to focus on the little things that make me smile. Here are a few that come to mind:

-This colored-in drawing. Liam drew it and he and Andrew colored it in together. We hung it in the kitchen (it's big -- 2 1/2 ft x 3 ft) and now it's my favorite thing to look at.

-A new bag. My good friend and talented fabric/sewer girl Ann made an awesome one for me and it makes me happy just to sling it over my shoulder. Check it out.

-An issue of Brain, Child magazine in my mailbox. I'm waiting.

-Gorgeous framed photos of Liam and Elliott. Courtesy of my talented photographer friend Vanessa.

-A cup of tea. And five minutes of peace to sip it.

-A totally clean house. And, yes, when one works, mothers and does one million other things in a day, a cleaning lady is the only way to achieve this. It's one small gift I buy for myself every other week. And, I swear, it nearly makes me cry.

-Andrew's CD. I have probably listened to this intrumental CD, Andrew Bordoni & Friends, 100 times, and I makes me smile every time. (Liam, as well as his 3-year-old neighbor friend Henry, are very big fans as well. Henry's mom, Heather, told me that he sat back on the couch to listen to it the other day and said, "Mom, I love Andrew Bordoni.")

-Big smiles from Elliott. The best ones come playing peek-a-boo in the mirror and drying off after a bath. The smiles I get when I tuck him into bed are pretty adorable, too. Almost makes me want to sweep him up and rock him to sleep. But not quite.

-Kind words from Liam. The absolute best is the unprompted, unexpected, "Mom, I love you." The funny things that come out of his mouth also give me a great lift. Today, as he parted from his "best friend" Ava after preschool, they gave each other a big hug. Then, Liam called after her in a "yo, Adrian"-style voice, "Ava, I'm going to marry you!" It still makes me laugh.