~ i continue my love affair with London Fogs - especially with Mighty Leaf tea.

~ wandering around the house with the kids this morning, explaining to them where everything is going to be.

~ tuna melts on squirrely bread topped with cucumber and pepper.

~ red converse high tops on my daughter.

~ flash fried capers.

1. rainfall giving me a few days off from watering the garden.

2. old diners in old towns with old staff and old customers.

3. entire days of children in good moods.

4. the giant zucchini we are growing in hopes of winning a ribbon at the Fair.

5. snake charmers and bearded ladies.

1. coming home from work at 11pm to find all my kids awake because "they wouldn't stop reading."

2. the resulting sleep-in until 9:30.

3. busy, busy nights at work spent talking to people from all over the world.

4. beet salad made exclusively from my own garden.

5. watching a mother and two baby deer relaxing in the backyard at 1am.

1. qualifying for a mortgage

2. finding the perfect house for me

3. driving 600km in five days in my new car

4. fitting all the camping gear in said car

5. a stranger giving me a Thule box for my car upon hearing me chat with the kids in line at the store about how to fit everything and how expensive said boxes are.

*it's all about karma"*

1. my new car that i bought all by myself and has windows that work, heated seats and 4 wheel drive.

2. the stress of getting ready for the first camping trip of the year.

3. the last week of school before summer vacation.

4. lucrative and fun nights at work.

5. making the best and tallest bellini's.

1. wearing smocked tube tops for the first time in thirty years and feeling just as comfortable in them now as i did as a little girl.

2. laughing, really laughing, with a good friend.

3. thinking about going to chicago next month and visiting the museum again.

4. having my kids through the weekend and not having to work.

5. late, late nights at the lake - swimming until the sun sets at 10pm.

1. Parker telling me over a shared bowl of soup "when i grow up i'm going to get an axe and live with you forever and chop down trees."

2. Shopping at the Sally Ann with tristan and watching her come home and tear apart all the clothes and put them back together in funky style with her sewing machine.

3. Toby pushing me for two weeks straight to let him have a paintball party for his birthday.

4. Eliza spending her first hour of every day writing a letter to her fairy.

5. Being able to ignore drama and personal insult directed at or written about me.

1. knowing that the rain will make my garden grow.

2. homemade mother's day cards.

3. finally buying a new lens cap for my Canon and realizing how much stress it was causing me NOT having one.

4. my beautiful daughter falling asleep snuggled beside me in the middle of the day.

5. my other beautiful daughter laughing her butt off late at night as she tries to put her sleeping brothers hand in warm water and getting caught by me.

1. chubby legs and bare feet sticking out from under a laptop computer.

2. wearing all black while sitting on a bench on the first sunny day of the year.

3. sleeping in every day for the whole two weeks of spring break.

4. crocuses popping up in the garden.

5. toby bringing home a report card filled with improvements and pride.

1. people that send me snarky emails as opposed to actually commenting.

2. people that quote philosophers.

3. eyebrows plucked to nothing and filled in with pencil.

4. when my dog or cat has poo stuck on her bum and then scoots around on the carpet.

5. when, by accident, i touch the rim of a glass that someone else has been drinking out of, ditto for plates and triple ditto for people who leave snotty napkins on the table.

1. in the hot tub with his grandfather he says: "grandpa you have boobs. huge ones!"

2. "know what my two favourite parts of my body are? my blood and veins because blue and red are my favourite colours."

3. "mommy i love you like ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS."

4. "mommy you are a poohead."

5. "i want a new bike and my birthday isn't for like A THOUSAND YEARS."

1. taking my kids for a night in a fancy hotel in victoria.

2. that moment when you get out of your chair and realize that counseling is over for this week.

3. snow drops blossoming all over the yard.

4. having short hair because i get to have cuts and colours every six weeks, constant change.

5. stubbornly refusing to try the alligator at work, giving in and then having your fears confirmed as you spit it back out and give the chef an "i told you so" look.

Having had a four year reprieve from any major allergic reactions in Eliza it was a frightening weekend of emergency room visits and hives the size of baseballs all over her body. When i picked her up from school on friday her torso was covered in angry welts. We had no idea then what she ate that caused the reaction and four days later we still have no idea. She is on a high dose of prednisone that is slowly working, though she continues to break out in new hives.

1. benadryl.
2. caring teachers that keep a very close eye on my daughter.
3. family doctors that bump us to the head of the line on our third visit to emergency.
4. getting to spend large amounts of time with my beautiful, youngest daughter who's calmness amazes me.
5. coming home from the hospital to find three goats grazing in the yard.

1. getting called in to work a charity poker tournament that is sure to be lucrative.

2. doing grace in small things is not really writing, so technically still taking a break.

3. i am madly in love with drinking London Fogs.

4. looking in my moms eyes and knowing she sees what is happening without talking.

5. challenging my daughter to a read-a-thon and knowing she may very well win.

1. toby getting perfect scores on his last four math tests.

2. all the kids waking me up in the morning in a giant dog pile.

3. gifts in the mail from lovely people.

4. every wall in the house decorated with parker's artwork.

5. only six more weeks of winter.

1. instant coffee in a pinch.

2. finding a toonie in the melting snow.

3. learning as much as parker while reading him the Magic Treehouse series.

4. really, really great lentil soup.

5. an hour alone in the bookstore.

1. sick days with kids = hours of reading on the couch; a much needed brake.

2. ginger ale, out of the bottle, first thing in the morning to battle the Amitriptylene dry mouth.

3. having the excuse of "pre-reading" to indulge in the Twilight series.

4. good friends blogging.

5. the bacon grease burn on my arm coming to perfect scab picking healiness.

1. marmalade the cat, held upside down in tristans arms and stretching to a mighty meter and a half, arms and legs pointed straight out at opposite ends.

2. nienie. Incredible and inspiring.

3. an hour and a half nap with parker in the afternoon.

4. a really great song.

5. plans for chicago in the summer coming together.

1. getting my hair cut and my eyebrows waxed every five weeks.

2. talking with parker about the 44th president over our weekly lunch date.

3. folding laundry with parker and laughing at him turning all the socks into sausage rolls.

4. not attending the general meeting at school and not feeling guilty about it.

5. gossiping over a bowl of edamame beans.

1. wearing little asian shirts to work this month.

2. extra strength advil.

3. singing a song in my head when my kids whine to avoid breaking down.

4. mojitos on the beach

5. looking at my c-section scar(s) every morning and being thankful for modern medicine saving my eliza's life.

1. my ipod and it's bose docking station in my bedroom, it makes folding laundry a little less horrible.

2. delurking day giving me insight on my readers.

3. stars "take me to the riot"

4. The United States of Tara and my brave friend LeahPeah

5. copious cups of tea with milk and honey.

1. 20% tips.

2. laughing with friends.

3. bringing home a giant moonsnail shell only to find a giant crab living in it, then run around screaming like girls with the girls.

4. spending several hours alone with my oldest daughter.

5. watching the kids swimming, each of them progressing huge amounts.

1. coffee ready for me in the morning.

2. sun shining on the snow making the whole world sparkle.

3. being woken up by a giant cat biting my nose.

4. cappuccino's with hearts in the foam.

5. rushing out of the house to go to a cabin on the beach for the weekend.

1. everybody on that plane is safe.

2. while sitting beside parker admiring his new love of drawing he says "I think i want to be a book writer when i grow up. It's just so interesting."

3. talking honestly with my daughter about not being invited to a birthday party and how we can try to make the best of the situation.

4. eliza bravely going on her field trip today and later listening to how fun it was.

5. knowing that this cold i have will go away.

1. taking the high road.

2. parker fishing a toy out from under the bed saying "come to poppa," and thinking he may very well be a poppa some day.

3. toby stubbornly refusing to cut his hair and me stubbornly admitting it looks really cute now.

4. safely drinking water out of a tap.

5. back scratches.

1. getting a private email from a reader that is tender and kind and inspiring.

2. making shellfish bouillabaisse for dinner and watching the kids eat the squid and octopus.

3. serving dinner to a husband and wife out celebrating her 94th birthday.

4. finally compiling all my random journals into one.

5. the giant, under the surface, pimple on my chin finally subsiding - a bit.

1. listening to the NPR "All Songs Considered" podcast every monday.

2. salmon sashimi with lots of wasabi.

3. my weekly lunch date with Parker.

4. witnessing parker learn to read - it doesn't lose any of it's magic, even the fourth time around.

5. witnessing tristan becoming a tween; sleeping in, staying up late reading, locking the bathroom door, general dislike of her young siblings, creating a funky unique wardrobe for herself.

1. putting a ponytail in my daughters hair every morning because i'm the only one that can do it right.

2. customers that don't get angry when service is slow.

3. soda and cranberry juice.

4. clean sheets and freshly shaved legs.

5. finally not hating my freckles.

1. butter. yum. with everything. in everything.

2. being able to finally get the recycling out after the four feet of snow have almost melted.

3. walking in the rain without worrying about getting wet.

4. walking out of counseling - knowing it's done for another week.

5. holy basil tea.

1. My youngest son bravely making it through kindergarten despite his separation anxiety.

2. Spending hours watching the fire in the woodstove.

3. Taking only fifteen minutes to have a shower and get dressed and out the door and the hat that makes that all possible.

4. A good book in a comfy bed.

5. Knowing how to make a really great salad dressing.

1. knee socks.

2. little clusters of toys left mid-play. it's like small views into the lives of my children when i'm not here.

3. getting that piece of popcorn out of my teeth.

4. cheese toast and orange juice for breakfast every day.

5. houseplants that don't die.