A Happy List

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I've been feeling recently like our lives are on this {uphill? downhill? How do BOTH of those descriptors somehow end up sounding negative?} good-directioned path, getting easier and calmer day by day. Lucy is growing older and we're into more of a routine with her; Max and Maggie are becoming so incredibly independent, it's amazing. I find that at the end of the day I've accomplished more than I had expected. I look back and think, "today was a good day."

It's an entirely different story in the moment. Catch me at 11:30 in the morning, when Max and Maggie are tired but I'm trying to keep them up just a little bit later before naptime, when all three of my babes are crying at once for I-don't-know-why, and when I haven't eaten or brushed my teeth or put on a bra. Catch me then and I will say to you, "my life is frustrating as $!%@."

Honestly, I don't know what this discrepancy means. Maybe it's is normal? Maybe it's not; maybe I need more patience and better perspective. Maybe I need let go of accomplishing everything I possibly can in one day and just let myself hang out with my children. Maybe it means that I haven't found that magical golden balance of work + kids that so many moms seem to have down, easy.

In any case, I'm trying to have more happiness and less frustration {and a lot less swearing} in my life. And with that segue, it's time for another happy list. Here are ten things that are making me happy right now:

1. Three-at-a-time baby baths in the tub.
2. Maggie has started saying "Bye! Bye!" just so. incredibly. loud every time we drive away from the house. She has to say it about 50 times before it's out of her system, it seems, which is a little bit obnoxious and a lot bit hilarious.
3. I casually mentioned to my sister that some built-in shelves would look awesome in her living room, and now I think she's going to make my idea a reality.
4. Cool mornings and evenings with breezy days in between. Fall in North Carolina, I love you.
5. Giving Lucy zerberts in her neck rolls. Or in her legs rolls. Or really anywhere on her adorably pudgy little squishy body.
6. Max's accidental haircut. I can't rub my hand over the top of his head enough.
7. New cutting boards from Ikea.
8. Planning to take our little family to a pumpkin patch. I think maybe Max and Maggie will love it.
9. This video. 
10. Picturing Maggie and Lucy in their sweet dresses for my brother-in-law's wedding on Saturday. Oh, and also my brother-in-law's wedding on Saturday. I would say I can't wait, but I know two people who are more impatient for the big day than I am. ;)

What's making you happy, readers? I'd love to hear from you.