100 Things I Love

Some blogging friends have created lists of 100 comforts. They have inspired me to do the same, so in honor of Valentine's Day, here are 100 things I love (in no particular order):

1. hugs from Perry just when I need them most
2. smiles on my kiddos faces
3. walks along the beach in Maine
4. the Marginal Way in Ogunquit
5. hot honey vanilla chamomile tea with two vanilla creamers
6. ice cold Newman's Own lemonade
7. climbing into bed after a long and exhausting day
8. the sound of the dishwasher running on a rainy day
9. a clean house
10. eating a dinner that I didn't have to cook
11. lots of time to create
12. reading a good book for long stretches at a time
13. sleeping late b/c Perry got up with the boys
14. the smell of rain in springtime
15. the smell of sunscreened kiddos in summer
16. the smell of fallen leaves in autumn
17. the smell of burning wood coming from a chimney in winter
18. Jelly Belly jelly beans
19. any candy, really
20. free time to spend however I want (usually creating)
21. overhearing the conversations my boys' have when they're being kind to one another
22. creative sparks of energy
23. time to play
24. Maddox's drawings
25. watching Camden play hockey
26. listening to Logan play his guitar
27. sunflowers
28. my boys' excitement over holidays and birthdays
29. love notes
30. my camera
31. a smile from a stranger
32. pilates
33. girlfriends
34. color
35. a brand new calendar
36. the smell of a new born baby
37. the sounds from a new born baby
38. yarn
39. long phone conversations about nothing
40. my sewing machine
41. rainbow order
42. a snowy day with no where to go
43. new crafting supplies
44. anything homemade
45. blogging and reading blogs
46. listening to good music
47. a fully stocked pantry with lots of meal options
48. feeling connected
49. remembering
50. that deep down happy feeling
51. photographs
52. my laptop
53. footy pajamas
54. slippers
55. pajama days
56. snuggly morning wake ups
57. pretty fabric
58. belly laughs from the boys
59. laughing until I cry
60. t-shirts and blue jeans
61. seeing Perry in a t-shirt and blue jeans
62. singing along with the car radio
63. making lists
64. lots of checkmarks on my list
65. organizing
66. hearing my cat purring in her sleep
67. filling the house with fresh air after a long New England winter
68. turquoise and lime
69. the view out my stUdio window
70. movies that make me cry
71. scrapbooking
72. crocheting
73. knitting
74. waking up happy
75. dinner out with Perry
76. Target
77. nice people
78. making all the green lights
79. monkeys
80. owls
81. watching the boys sleep
82. my stUdio
83. the warm sun on my face
84. museums
85. a visit to the city
86. airplane flying
87. being alone
88. getting a new magazine in the mail
89. feeling inspired to create
90. getting comments on my blogs
91. a long soak in a hot bath
92. anything lemon flavored
93. my ATG tape gun
94. pens with blue ink
95. chocolate in the house when I'm pms-ing
96. things of old
97. changing seasons
98. traditions
99. freshly painted nails
100. blankets

Well, there it is 100 things I love (could also be termed 100 things that make me happy). I'm thinking this should be done every year. I last wrote such a list about 6 years ago when my middle was just a baby. Of course, I can't find it now.

Check out my sister's list, and my friends' ones here and here. So what's on your list?

Snapshot Saturday 2.13.10

He:

• got his 4th perfect spelling test in a row
• has a penpal in CT
• "works out" in the basement flipping himself upside down on the exercise bar and running on the treadmill
• takes a llllooooooooooonnnggg time to do his homework
• plays songs by ear on his guitar
• still asks me to pick him up once in a while

He:

• ran 3 miles on the treadmill
• is getting sad that hockey is almost over
• scores a goal (or 2) in hockey nearly every week
• gives me a run for my money
• loves his Daddy dearly
• loves to "tustle" (basically wrestling his brothers to the floor)

He:

• draws amazing people and inspires me to draw more
• calls me boss (you bet, boss), and Miss Michelle (ok, Miss Michelle) when I ask him to do something
• has the naughtiest mouth: stupid, idiot, freaking
• kisses me lots & pats my back when he hugs me
• prefers to draw over playing video games (bless his heart!)
• crawls into the kitchen cupboard to draw and calls it his office, sending mail through the sponge holder

And just like that, a new purpose is born

During the first year of each of my boys' lives, I took a monthly photograph of them with their teddy bear in the rocking chair in their bedrooms. I paired these pictures with the goings-on in their little lives and the milestones from that month, and created scrapbook pages of their first years. I love the snapshot these pages gave into their lives, and can now remember many of the pieces of their babyhoods because of it.

The other day I got to thinking about how I have lost touch with this blog. {Remember Today} is hard to keep up with on a daily basis, and because of that, this blog seemed to lack a real purpose. And as I recently preached to my sister, (who just began her blogging journey here), your blog needs to have a purpose, otherwise, you just won't use it.

So here I am, ready to breathe new purpose into this old, dusty blog. I'm calling it *Snapshot Saturday*, and it's where I will document the goings-on and milestones in the boys' lives on a weekly basis. These days are so fleeting, I can't believe how fast they're already growing up. Every day older I get, time seems to pass even faster. And since I can't stop the hands of time from ticking away, at least I can capture the ordinary (and sometimes extraordinary) in the days of our weeks.

two-ten-twenty-ten

Today is my birthday. I actually turned a year younger today. In the days leading up to my birthday I somehow got it in my head that I was turning 37. This morning Logan asked me how old I was today. "37," I replied without hesitation. Camden happily piped in with, "No, Mom, Dad's 37. You're 36 today. Here's a calculator; do the math!"(he knows his Mom so well with the calculator bit!) So today I turned a year younger. I think I may have unlocked the key to the fountain of youth!

Here're some highlights of the day:

• waking up at 7:38 am because the boys had been mouse-quiet all morning
• loads of happy birthday hugs and kisses from the kiddos (I love how my birthday is more exciting for them than me)
• receiving these precious cards and gifts from the boys (you know I will be saving those coupons for the most desperate of times!)
• finding the playroom totally cleaned up courtesy of the boys
• spending some time sitting on the couch in P's office crocheting while the snow fell outside
• lots of birthday greetings on Facebook
• phonecalls from family and friends
• a 2-hour phone call with my brother on some philosophies of life
• yummy calzone for dinner
• this birthday cake
• watching The Time Traveler's Wife with P (the book was so much better, of course, but watching the movie made me fall deeper in love with the book)

Yeah, it was a darn good day. Full of all the things that matter most: love of family and friends, a bit of creative time, and a clean playroom that I didn't have to scream my head off to get!!