I Love...

Seeing the sweetness Carter and Elise have for each other. Whether it's Carter unbuckling Elise from rides at the fair or Elise running to help Carter when he's crying, it is the best thing ever as a mom! They are definitely sweeter to each other now that Carter is in school. I think missing each other helps make them realize how much they love each other. Carter loves to hear about how Elise asked to pick him up all morning or how she wanted to pick out a piece of candy at the aquarium gift shop to give him.

Having friends to run with. It has taken me a while to find a group I fit with pace-wise and I am loving it! I have someone to run with once or twice a week and it is awesome. I've even had company for an entire 18 mile run between a friend and my brother! We meet at 5 or 5:30 and I really prefer 5:30 so I can sleep until 5:00. I don't know why but getting up before 5 am just seems absurdly early! But it is nice to come home to a quiet house and have time to foam roll and shower before the kids wake up.

All things seasonal and holiday-related. That has rubbed off on Carter. He asked for weeks to get out the Halloween decorations so we could put them up and we eventually did around the end of September. I love having our ghost lights and our orange lights up in the house and tend to just enjoy any extra light, festive lights make it even better! I also pulled out the adorable Tupperware holiday tumblers I got last year and the kids are loving them again. I used the snack cups all year long because they aren't obviously Halloween. Poor Ty is now outnumbered x3 with his dislike of holiday decorations! But I can see why as I had to get something out of the attic when he was gone and it was awful!

This is the set I have. Isn't it cute!?

How much Carter loves school. He transitioned to 3 days a week, full day this year so well. He made all new friends because his friends from last year were in a different class and he loves his teachers. He has a special love for his teacher's daughter who he refers to as a baby. She is 2 years old and comes to sit with them at the end of the day for parent pick-up. He loves talking to her and tells me all about her. It's so sweet!

The children's librarian at the library by our house. Through the years of visiting and going to storytime Carter has grown to really love her and Elise does as well. She is so sweet and always makes time to talk to us, no matter what she is working on. If Carter doesn't see her when we visit he will ask the nearest librarian where she is. Often times they will go get her from her office and she will come out to chat. She's even come out to talk to Carter when they caught her getting ready to leave for the day. She found a bunch of caterpillars and chrysalises in her yard and knew Carter was very interested so she brought a container with 5 chrysalises to the library and let us take them home. So far we have released a monarch and a variegated fritillary and are excitedly watching for the other butterflies to emerge.

Listening to audiobooks in the car. A while back a blog friend mentioned she was listening to audiobooks in the car with her kids. I immediately got excited over what a fabulous idea that was! When we deliver for Meals on Wheels it usually takes us around 2 hours and most of that time is spent driving between houses. I decided to try out listening to an audiobook during our route and it was awesome! Carter asked to switch back to music toward the end but then was so excited to keep listening the next day. We listened to Winnie the Pooh and I was surprised by how much I loved it. I was actually laughing really hard at various points in the book. It was great! I like to talk to Carter about his day at school on the way home from school so I usually just keep it off during those drives. Elise and I don't listen without Carter either.

All our library's book apps. I'm in a book club that meets once a month and I couldn't get the last book we read from the library because there were quite a few holds on it. The only version I could get was a downloadable audio book on my phone. I was reading a book for pleasure so I kept reading that before bed and when I laid with Carter at naptime. Then I'd listen to the audio book when I did chores around the house and when I walked Harper. I realized I really enjoyed that so I downloaded another audiobook when I finished the one for my book club. I'm now on my 4th audiobook! I've been listening to nonfiction books that intrigue me and in topics I'd like to learn more about. It's easier for me to stop listening when I finish a chore or finish my walk with nonfiction and it also is a great way for me to learn more about important topics. Our library has so many different apps I can always find a book I want whether it is a physical book, an audiobook, or a digital book. It definitely has me spoiled! Now we can never move to a smaller town!

Looking forward to a new book! A friend hosted an Usborne Book Party on Facebook and invited me. I wasn't too excited about it initially but had a book I wanted to get for my nephew, Wyatt, so I went along with it. I ended up watching a bunch of videos showing the books they have and got super excited about their Shine-a-Light series. They are books with pages where you shine a flashlight behind the page and a secret picture pops up. I just know the kids are going to love them and can't wait to give them to them as a present along with a fun flashlight! It's definitely something I would've loved as a kid, but who am I kidding, still love as an adult. To see books in the series, check here.