daily doses of sweetness.

I've been using my happiness jar and I'm not the only one, either. That in itself is something to be happy about! For every weird or annoying thing happening that pops up and distracts my attention, like accidentally taking 329 pictures with my phone while it was in my pocket, I've found little things that are just so sweet to re-focus on what matters. Sweetness is a perfect way to add balance and perspective into what can become a hectic day.

Nate has also really gotten into drawing pictures for us this week. One day when he wasn't particularly looking forward to going to school, I reminded him that he could draw me a picture while he was there. When I went to pick him up, not only was he incredibly focused on his picture but he had eleven others to bring home with him. I thought that maybe he was drawing a diagram of how to set the table, but apparently this is a family portrait.

Yesterday we got a lot of snow -- which makes N think that it's Christmas. After shoveling twice (!), I was super sore and had a nasty headache brewing. When I went to take a nap, Nate came in and covered me up with a blanket, gave me his teddy bear, and gave me a kiss on the forehead before telling me to get some good sleep. So adorable and my nap was glorious!

Another day I'll admit, I wasn't my best self. I had a rough day while Nate was at school and then tried to cram in too much in too little time. Rush, rush, rush ... and pick up from school got me back into perspective. Nate discovered marbles. Something so simple, not electronic (because, well he's obsessed), used some critical thinking, and was fun. He talked about this little marble maze for hours after we got home! It reminded me of neighbors that we had when I was a kid who had so many marbles and gave me some when I moved away.

And then there's this cape: this gift that no one will ever be ever to top and constant staple in his wardrobe. Nate's aunt and uncle gave him this cape for a birthday or Christmas, I can't remember, and I'm pretty sure he's worn it every day since. He often pairs it with some snow boots and gloves to pretend to be a "bad guy" to stomp around the house. This is how he stomps around the house every single night...and the lighting in this picture is absolutely perfect.

I'm hoping for a fun weekend with my boys! We've got a birthday party party to go to, a kids workshop, and I'm determined that we're going to build a snowman before all of this snow melts away!