25 Things About Motherhood That Make Me Smile: Christmas Edition

1. The drive home on Christmas Eve with both girls sleeping in the backseat.
2. Reading What is Christmas? to them when I put them to bed.

3. Putting out gifts from Santa in certain spots in the living room.

4. Making cookies for Santa. This didn't get done this year. Santa got store bought oatmeal cookies and a Little Debbie Christmas Tree cake with a tall glass of milk.

5. Leaving crumbs on the plate and a little milk in the glass.

6. Writing a letter to Sarah and Rylee from Santa.

7. Waking up hours before they do, too excited about Christmas morning.

8. The looks on their faces when they realize Santa came to their house.

9. Playing in the snow-snow angels, snowman, snowballs!

10. Watching Sarah "play" her violin like she is the Concert Master of the Symphony.

11. Watching Rylee roll in laughter when she tickles Elmo and he laughs. Just like Sarah did 3 Christmases ago.

12. The NOISE!

13. The MESS!

14. The JOY!

15. Waiting (impatiently) for Gigi and PopPop.

16. Sarah's reaction when she opened her salon.

17. Sarah "painting" PopPop's fingernails.

18. Settling in for the evening to watch Toy Story 3 together.

19. Sarah laying on Gigi's lap during the movie.

20. Rylee falling asleep in her Daddy's arms during the movie.

21. Me crying at the end of the movie like the dork that I am.

22. Uninterrupted, quality family time.

23. Getting to feel like a kid again on Christmas morning- only better, because of my husband and daughters.

24. Sarah saying that she can't wait until next year.

25. Me saying, "Neither can I" and meaning it.

25 Things About Motherhood That Make Me Smile

1. Putting big block puzzles together for 3 hours
2. Rylee saying,"MY MAMA!" whenever Brian hugs or kisses me
3. Finding real Pop Tarts in the toy microwave
4. Sarah singing "All the Single Ladies"
5. When I tell Sarah to sit down and she says,"What am I going to be in?" Hoping that I don't say time out
6. Seeing the excitement on both their faces at Disney on Ice
7. Trick-or-Treating with the 2 most beautiful princesses in the world
8. When Rylee says, "Awww, Man!"
9. Doing bath time with Mr. Froggy
10. Watching Sarah put on "lipstick"
11. Having to get Rylee off the top of the kitchen table 10 times a day
12. Looking in the backseat of the car and them being there
13. Having to pause the movie during "date night" to rock Rylee back to sleep
14. Putting Lisa Frank stickers on a blank sheet of paper for an "art project"
15. Meltdowns in the middle of Wal-Mart and another mother passing by giving me a knowing glance
16. Christmas time-it took on a whole new meaning when I had children
17. So did Thanksgiving
18. Sarah telling the pediatrician that "Only girls can go to DisneyWorld, not boys"
19. Having been so blessed that the only visits to the pediatrician have been well visits
20. Sarah "reading" her princess bedtime story complete with a French accent for Lumiere
21. Holding my new nieces and feeling that familiar tug at my heart
22. Rylee dumping all the contents of the sippy cup drawer into the kitchen floor every day
23. Sarah telling Rylee "Shh, don't cry. It's ok." in her most convincing "mommy" voice
24. Knowing all the words to "Green Eggs and Ham"
25. Singing, "I love Sarah/Rylee in the Springtime" just like my Mom used to sing to me

25 Things About Motherhood That Make Me Smile

1. Rylee holding an empty plate (dumped on the floor of the restaurant) up to her ear and saying, "Heyyo"
2. Sarah, at the same restaurant, pouring parmesan cheese onto every single bite of her pizza
3. A spontaneous Sunday afternoon trip to a drive-thru safari
4. The looks on both their faces when they saw all the animals, especially the monkey doing back flips
5. Sarah seeing a commercial for a Fisher Price crocodile block set and telling her sister, "Rylee, I'm going to ask Santa to bring you one of those for Christmas, because I know you want one."
6. Complete strangers stopping me in public to tell me how adorable my children are
7. At church, looking over during prayer, and seeing Sarah's hands folded, head bowed, and eyes closed
8. Saying prayers at bedtime and praying for the crickets chirping outside the bedroom window
9. Both girls sitting in their Daddy's lap having a "movie date"
10. Praying that someday they'll both fall in love with men as wonderful as their Daddy
11. The way Rylee puts her sweet little hand just inside my shirt and pats or rubs my chest for comfort or when she is really tired
12. Coloring pictures
13. Finger paints
14. Having "feet ghosts" hanging from the ceiling fan in our living room
15. The whole side of our fridge being covered in artwork
16. Rylee's fascination with her belly button
17. Sarah's excitement at going to the mailbox to see what movie Netflix sent her. Today we'll get A Bug's Life
18. Sarah being more excited about ringing lots of doorbells than all the candy she'll get trick-or-treating
19. Playing "Salon" when I do their hair. It keeps the screaming to a minimum
20. The face Rylee makes when she is up to no good...so mischievous
21. Sarah telling the Sunday school teacher, "When I eat a lot and get lots of sleep, then I'll be four."
22. Counting "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi"...all the way to 30 when we brush teeth
23. Catching myself counting it in my head when I brush my teeth
24. Rylee waving bye-bye and blowing kisses to the phone when her Daddy calls from work
25. The way Sarah says, "Well, I'll letcha go. Bye. I love you!" when she's getting off the phone with someone.

25 Things About Motherhood That Make Me Smile

Sometimes I get so caught up in the mundane day-to-day tasks that come with being a mom that I forget to stop and just smile at the wonder that surrounds me. I get so busy cleaning up spills, picking up toys, preparing meals, cleaning up meals, etc... that I don't always recognize the things that make me love it so much. So, every week I am going to list 25 things that make what I do so worth doing. I want my daughters to always know that the love and fun far outweigh the tantrums, attitudes, and difficulties of our days together.
So, without further ado, the first installment of...

25 things about motherhood that make me smile:

1. The way Rylee's hair looks when she first wakes up
2. Sarah singing the "Clean up song" when she picks up blocks
3. The smell of Johnson's baby lotion
4. Bear hugs
5. Slobbery kisses
6. Tea parties
7. Bedtime stories
8. Making silly faces
9. Finding a stash of bop-bops (passies) 9 months after Sarah stopped using them
10. Watching Sarah dance
11. The way Rylee says "MAMA!!"
12. Having enough room on my lap for both of them at once
13. "Swing me higher, Mama!"
14. "Watch me slide, Mama!"
15. Sticky hands
16. Rylee sucking her pointer finger and rubbing her nose with the middle finger
17. Ponytails that stick straight up
18. Mammy and Ruby (2 beloved stuffed animals) being members of our family
19. Rylee picking up macaroni with her chubby little fingers and feeding it to me
20. My daughters playing sweetly together in the floor
21. The way they both laugh when I tickle them
22. Watching them sleep
23. Finding toys in the pantry and groceries in the toy box
24. The way they want me with them all the time
25. The way I want them with me all the time