the little things.

enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things

-robert brault

It's been busy lately, the tough kind of busy that makes you wonder: if you're burning the candle at both ends, is there anything left? Lately my days have turned into nights and my nights have gotten much shorter. It happens. We're all busy. 

Pushing through. One thing that has been helpful, dare I say motivational, has been to pick a favorite moment of the day and capture it. I've been doing this for the past week and it's served as a needed reminder of thankfulness. In no particular order....

-1-

At our (drive-thru!) pharmacy: 

Pharmacist: What is the last name pick-up? 

Me: Darder. D-A-R-D-E-R

Pharmacist: And the first name? 

Nathan: DADDY! 

-2-

Nathan sharing one of his beloved cake pops with his GiGi for her birthday...and I use the term 'sharing' very loosely because he tried hard to get all of it. This was just such an adorable (and hysterical) moment.

-3-

Reading together has become one of my favorite things for Nathan and I to do. Lately, he has really loved the 'Little Dinos' books like this one. I bought them through the Scholastic reading club at Nate's preschool and they have paid for themselves many times over! When Nate gets the urge to slap something, he's gotten so that he looks at me and says "Mommy - little dinos don't hit". Amazing. 

We just got a new book order delivery in today and we got TWENTY books! I let Nate circle what he wanted in the flyers (fine motor skills, plus interest!) so we ended up with mostly Mercer Mayer's 'Little Critter' books, with a few Doc McStuffins, Bubble Guppies, and Jake and the Never Land Pirates mixed in. We read them all in one sitting tonight! I may have no voice tomorrow but with little man cuddled up with me it was just perfect.

-4-

I've said it before and I'll say it again: my kid has a ridiculous amount of energy. On weekends, we generally keep him up and running all day, no nap, and he's still not falling asleep until late. We have the same struggle during the week. Case and point, the other night after a full day of school, playing outside, and running laps through our house, around 11:00 p.m. But hey, if you're going to be up late, why not go out with a bang?

-5-

We celebrated Chris's 34th birthday this past week! I got off of work early, bought a surprise cake and presents, and then conspired with Nathan to decorate before Chris came home from work. Nate picked out all of the decorations for the house (some tissue balls, crepe paper, plates, and napkins in Chris's favorite colors - Nate was especially emphatic about the napkins). He also picked out a few gifts for Chris

Our convo at checkout...

Nate: Today is Daddy's birthday! 

Cashier: Oh, that's very nice. It looks like you are having a party. 

Nate: Yeah, I am getting him these soldiers and a pirate sword. They are a present .... maybe we will share.

And of course, we had some fun in the party section in Target: 

Chris never did get those soldiers or the pirate sword, but that's okay - I think he's pretty happy with his new PS4! 

-6-

After muddling through a lot of rainy days, we got a nice little burst of beautiful weather. I got Nate a sandbox (pirate themed, of course), 200 lbs. of sand, and received bliss in return. On Saturday he played in there for three hours straight without so much as a peep. I've heard that sprinkling cinnamon in sand will help keep bugs out, so we'll give that a shot once it warms up a bit more. In the meantime, this little kiddo is having a blast. 

-7-

Chris threw out his back over the weekend (cutting ice cream cake of all things) and he's been pretty miserable over the last few days. Let's be clear: this isn't the point of this "favorite moment" :)  In times where one of us isn't feeling our best, I'm so happy and comforted by the fact that I have a partner in crime. This time it's me helping him, but come next migraine, I know that he's got my back. 

find gratitude in the little things and your well of gratitude will never run dry

-antonia montoya