Little Daily Joys

It's midweek  and work has been crazy - the type of crazy where I have worked in the evenings and on the weekend and during lunch.  And it feels like I have worked a lot and am meeting all that is required of me-  YET everyone seems grouchy (which is probably because they have worked a lot too but always makes me stress like I have done something wrong!!) On top of that, I am at that lovely stage of pregnancy where you start to grow a lot and I HATE watching the scale go up and my belly expand! (I, obviously, want baby to grow - but truthfully, I wish I could keep her fairly small until the last month and she could do all the major weight gain THEN haha) We are in the process of making Christmas plans which is always stressful (why can't we live in a Christmas version of groundhog day so we can spend the holidays with each family and no one sacrifices any of their traditions?)  And, yesterday, a picture fell off the wall at night knocking a vase over while we slept - leaving watermarked wood for me to find in the morning (any tips for dealing with that??)

So - life has had a few *minor* frustrations - but let's be honest, nothing horrible - just the hum drum and stress of each week. With rainy weather and lack of sleep (Thank you, dear daughter!), it's easy to be grumpy if I don't remind myself of the MANY MANY little joys in my life.  Yesterday, popular blogger, Kelly at Kelly's Korner, wrote about the things that bring her joy and I thought I would join in!!

Things that bring me JOY today.....

(1) Coming home to this sweet guy! Neither one of us had a meeting or obligation last night and I was super excited for a lazy night to cook breakfast for dinner (almond flour pancakes and bacon --it's my go to pregnancy meal) and curl up in front of the TV with him!

(2) our sweet LITTLE GIRL!!  I keep having to pinch myself because - eek, I am having a daughter!! Although I ADORE my nephews, our family needs a little pink!  SO --I was not so secretly hoping for a girl -- and I am over the moon thrilled that R2 is a little lady!  Even though she sometimes makes me sick - and she's making me fat, each day I can't help be smile that she is all ours and is own her way!

(3) my sweet MISSISSIPPI friends.  This weekend, I am heading to Mississippi for my friend, Claire's bachelorette! I am ecstatic that I get to celebrate her upcoming nuptials and that I get to do so with all my favorites.  I love DC and the wonderful friends I have made here, but a huge piece of my heart misses the great friends I had back home. I always feel rejuvenated and full after I spend time with them!

(4) OXFORD, MS!  Oxford is one of my FAVORITE towns - so many fun memories (and a few bad ones: law school finals, yuck!)  I haven't been to Oxford since we moved to DC.  Luckily, that's where the celebratory weekend is - and I can't wait to see sweet friends and enjoy all the good food, shopping and wondering around this picture perfect town! (Maybe Annie D will end up with some new Rebel gear!)

(5) OLE MISS REBELS ARE #3.  Woohoo, now if we can just keep winning!

(6) DATE NIGHTS!  During first trimester, Dave and I spent so many evenings at home, watching TV and going to bed early.  Summer usually includes a lot of baseball games, morning walks, restaurants and our favorite, OUTDOOR MOVIES (we didn't see one single outdoor movie this summer!)  So, this weekend, when we decided to go to a Friday night movie, I felt like I was in the land of the living - plans, on a Friday night? woohoo! We saw The Intern which is super cute and I highly recommend it!

(7) FALL.  Leaves are turning and the air is cooler. Fall is here! There are pumpkins and mums everywhere!  We are going apple picking in a couple weeks and Halloween candy fills the grocery store aisles. My current favorite thing about fall is that boots still fit you even when you are pregnant!!!

(8) New TV. Okay, this makes me a boring person right - but I was excited to have some new TV shows/new seasons starting in September!

(9) Good books and my KINDLE!! I just started a wonderful book on the metro yesterday. I love that Kindle and the Kindle phone app allows me to read anywhere - even on boring metro rides!

(10) Baby Clothes.  I have hardly bought anything, just a few items in France. But, I am having so much fun looking up darling outfits for Anne Douglas! Aren't little girl clothes just the cutest things ever?


See, I found 10 things that bring me JOY - some major (baby girl!) and some minor (good tv shows) - in a matter of a few minutes! What about you? What is bringing you JOY today??? And if life is feeling stressful, how can you take a few minutes to enjoy one of these things that bring you so much happiness?