Top Five Tuesday: Today is a Good Day Because...

I've known today was going to be a good day since yesterday. The obvious reason for this is that I don't have to work on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, so all day yesterday I was staring down a mid-week "weekend" with my favorite gal. But I like to think that the real reason I knew today would be a fabulous day was that I got to come home to discover that Natalie's daycare teachers PUT HER HAIR IN A PONYTAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME. I nearly fell over laughing seeing her look simultaneously like a grown little toddler girl, and also like a mini sumo wrestler. Made my night, and made me oh so excited to spend today with my favorite little person.

So, here they are, the Top 5 Reasons Today has been a Good Day:

1. Natalie got a good night's sleep. And, even though I know that putting in writing that my 10-month-old terrible sleeper has had a handful of good night's of sleep is a major JINX, and when she inevitably is up squawking tonight every 2 hours Mikey will have all kinds of justification for leaving me, I'm still gonna put it out there. We are feeling well-rested around here thanks to the weekend's naps and a few solid nights from the budgie. Any night in which I got a 5+ hour stretch of sleep makes for a good day.

2. I got dressed today. It's no secret that I am a major pajama-lover, and my pj-days with Natalie are something rather sacred around here. But the days off when I still get myself showered and dressed and ready to face the world outside of Natalie's playroom are inevitably better days in my life. I still reserve at least 1 (okay, 2) days a week when I'm home to stick to sweats, but it's important for my psyche that all my fashion decisions are not about Natalie's wardrobe.

3. Coffee. Oh, sweet, sweet coffee. Natalie and I were up and at 'em to hit up our favorite coffee shop as soon as it opened this morning, and it was a heavenly outing for me. I spent nearly every other day of my maternity leave sitting in that coffee shop with Natalie, eating my weight in croissants and sipping on decaf. When I started to get concerned that I was consuming all of my daily calories in pastries before 9am, and spending all of my saved-up-for-maternity-leave money on lattes, I had to cut back. And then winter swooped in and made the walk downtown icy and treacherous and cold, so our coffee mornings were put on hold. But today we were dressed and bundled and hit the pavement to enjoy a hello with our favorite barista and do a bit of early-morning people watching. It felt like coming home after a long trip, and I was so glad to have made the effort. Oh, and that caffeine? Totally made my day as well.

4. Snuggles from the budge. And not in the clingy I-don't-feel-good kind of snuggly way it sometimes can be. No, today has been all about, "Oh, hi, Mom. How about I take a break from ripping magazines and wiggling in the mirror to give you a hug, just because I love you so much?" And it has crushed my heart into a million pieces as she rests her little head on my shoulder for just long enough to let me know that it's a for-real hug before scurrying off to do more important things like bang her blocks together or initiate a game of peek-a-boo.

5. We're facing another doozy of a snowstorm. This is actually, in many ways, a total bummer. We have nowhere to put the snow, and spending hours in the cold shoveling and snowblowing is kinda the last thing I want to do. But, it's almost a guarantee that Mikey is going to get a snow day out of the deal, which means that not only has today been great but I have another snuggly day ahead to look forward to with BOTH of my favorite people. Anticipation for something great (like on the last day of school before vacation) makes any bad day good, and any good day better.

So that's my day, in a nutshell. How have your days been? What makes your day great?

Oh, and I almost forgot! Reason #6 why today has been great?! I'm up a couple of spots on Top Baby Blogs thanks to your dedicated voting! Thank-you SO much for keeping me ranked up in the top 3 pages of the list. If you have a couple of clicks to spare, I'd love to get a few more votes to climb another spot or two.

Oh, and before I forget. You know that handy reading list of other cool blogs that use to be over there in the sidebar? Well, now they're listed in the "Reading List" tab at the top of the page. Same great blogs (and more of them!), just saved in a new place. Happy reading!