My Favorite Smells

The last in my series... I think I saved this for last because it is probably my weakest of the senses. I don't have a lot of those childhood memories related to smells, perhaps because I have always dealt with allergies and tend to be a little congested most of my life. However, I was amazed when I was pregnant with both boys how much my sense of smell improved. Troy called it my "super sniffer." Here are my favorites:

• My babies right after a bath
• Hydrangeas
• My first cup of coffee in the morning
• Dinner in the crockpot (doesn't really matter what - I just know I love that I don't have to do much cooking!)
• Dinner on the grill - especially pork chops!
• Any perfume with citrus tones in it

My Favorite Things to Feel

So now these are getting a little harder. But here is my list for today:

• A sleepy child in my arms
• My husbands hand on the small of my back
• Bare feet on really soft carpet
• Heavy blankets over me on a cold winter night
• Bamboo cotton sheets at City Flats hotel
• Riley's soft fur
• The breeze coming in my car window on the first warm spring day

My Favorite Tastes

Tastes are funny because I discovered pregnancy can completely change these! Here's my favorites for today:

• When I was pregnant with Jack my favorite tastes were steak and any fresh fruit. During that early morning sickness stage I went through a week where all I ate was mashed potatoes!
• With Brett, I could not stand meat but craved raw vegetables. I ate A LOT of salads!! However, I did crave Taco Bell and ice cream. Hence, why I gained more with Brett than with Jack!
• My secret confession - I LOVE fast food. Greasy, fattening food is just yummy. I have a favorite at just about every fast food joint!
• Michigan strawberries - somehow, Michigan just has it right when it comes to strawberries. No other ones even compare!
• Any kind of mint ice cream - I LOVE March because everywhere offers Shamrock shakes!
• Duck - one of those treats I rarely have since we rarely go to fancy restaurants (imagine that!). :)
• A well grilled steak - we love the Grill House restaurant because the meat is perfect and the grilling is just fun!
• A cold beer on a hot day
• That first sip of coffee in the morning

My Favorite Sights

I tried to think about if I suddenly couldn't see, what I really miss the most. My list of favorites for today:

• Again, topping the list is my children's smiles. From those first little involuntary grins as babies to Jack's fake smile we have coined his "evil grin," I love them all.
• The sunset - living on Lake Michigan I have gotten spoiled by tons of beautiful sunsets.
• The snow on the trees after a really good snowstorm - the kind that sticks to every individual branch and makes the world look crisp and white everywhere.
• The moon when it is a small crescent but you can faintly see the rest of the moon like a shadow - I pointed this out to Jack the other night and loved that he thought it was as cool as I did.
• Endless blue sky - nothing like seeing a perfectly blue sky without a single cloud in it (see outside your window today for an example!!).
• Rainbows - I've seen quite a few in the past few years and I never get used to how mysterious and beautiful they are. They really do make me want to chase down the end of them and see what's there!
• The fields of green when you fly into Ireland - I went with my mom when I was young and have never forgotten the patchwork quilt of every shade of green imaginable.
• My children sleeping - I am the crazy mom that could watch them sleep forever.

My Favorite Sounds

In the spirit of living in the moment more, this week I am going to write about my favorites for each of the senses. I am hoping this will help me to realize all the little favorites that are a part of every day. So here are my favorite sounds:

• Topping the list is the sound of my children laughing. This weekend we were playing outside with Jack, chasing him, and he was just laughing and laughing. It made me so happy to hear him so happy. And Brett has an almost infectious laugh.
• Troy's car pulling in the driveway - even after almost five years of marriage, I still get excited to hear him getting home.
• Music - I love a wide variety of music, from classical (Pachelbel is a fave), to country (lots of faves here), to my college bands (like Counting Crows). I just love to listen to music.
• The fan when I am falling asleep - I have to have some type of white noise when I sleep. It is so relaxing to me. I think I have ruined my children with this because I think they both sleep much better when there is some kind of white noise.
• A cat's purr - as much as I complain about my two little fur balls, I still love to hear them purr when I pet them.
• Rain on the roof in the morning - nothing is quite like the sound of rain hitting the roof on a lazy weekend morning (well, haven't had much of these since the kids, but still a favorite sound!).

Aaaaaahhhhh

I have two sleeping children in the middle of the day right now. There must be some odd planetary alignment going on. Sorry blogging world, but I am not wasting this time on the computer! I'll write something tomorrow! :)

The "Eyes" Have It!

Monkey had to visit the eye doctor today. Since he was a couple weeks old, he has had trouble with blocked tear ducts. His right eye cleared up a couple months ago; however, his left eye would not clear up, even with drops from the pediatrician. So he referred us to a local eye doctor. We went to the appointment expecting the worst. We had been told that the eye doctor would probably remove the clog in the office. The pediatrician had told us when the babies are young enough, like Brett, they did the procedure without anesethia and just held the child down. This sounded horrendously awful to me. I was literally sick to my stomach as I drove to the appointment. As Troy, Brett, and I sat in the waiting room, we joked that of course Brett's eye looked perfect today since we had the appointment. Then we realized that it had actualy looked pretty good the last few days. When we told the doctor this, he thought that maybe the duct had cleared itself in the last couple days. He used some drops with dye in them and did not see any blockage. So we left with a prescription for drops if they are needed, instructions to massage the corner of his eye, and a follow up appointment in a couple months. Very little trauma for any of us! Yeah!