Things to Do - Make a Grateful List (September edition)

Okay, so despite loving my life and my family and all that stuff (blah blah blah), sometimes I get rather down. I think we all do. In order to try and keep the "downs" away, every month I make a grateful list of 25 things that make me happy. I originally got the idea from this book - The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections, which is such an amazing read. On the same note, right after the girls' bedtime story (after we turn out the lights), I ask them to think of three things they're grateful for. Every day. Usually they say the expected (family, friends, teddy bears, etc.), but I still think it's nice to try and remember the good things. on a daily basis. so dorky, i know. But, as you've probably noticed, I'm rather dorky (if you're cool and you read this blog, please don't go away). So here's my Top 25 Grateful List from September. Feel free to take inspiration from it. Or scoff. Just not too loudly, I'm a sensitive sort.

(By the way, the pictures and the list don't really correlate, except all the pics were taken in September).

1. Finally, turning off the air conditioning and feeling the breeze through the windows
2. Picking our own potatoes at Great Country Farms
3. Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, MD (this place is awesome)
4. Date night at Evening Star with good friends
5. My husband riding his bike to work every day (he's so so much happier now)
6. The baby dancing to Taio Cruz's Dynamite
7. Duck donuts We lived on these at the beach. I ate over three a day, seriously they're that good. (but they're only available in the Outer Banks, so sad)
8. F's seashell collection
9. P spotting a crab (a big crab) and designating herself a "beach explorer"
10. Walking the girls to school in the morning and looking for "signs of fall"
11. The sound of the ocean, especially at night with the windows open
12. T (the baby) walking his froggy pull-toy everywhere
13. The Artful Parent mentioning my blog
14. The girls looking at old photo albums and F telling P "no, T wasn't born yet, YOU were the baby."
15. Pepsi throwback
16. F dancing to bluegrass at Cox Farm's fall festival (she really got her groove on)
17. Clarins' self-tanner (help for the truly pale)
18. Jenga and mariachis on Val's birthday
19. The History of Love
20. Discovery Toys Wiz Kidz Card Game - my kids love this game (especially F, the almost 5 year old, we played for hours on our vacation)
21. Whenever you ask F or P where they live they always say "Virginia the United States of America"
22. When babies fall asleep in the nook of your shoulder
23. Mondays (all three kids go to preschool on Mondays, so I get the morning off) & Tuesdays (all three kids are home from preschool so we all get to spend the day together)
24. Bachelor Pad (everyone needs a guilty pleasure)
25. My dad's health (it's not perfect, but all in all he's doing okay)

How about everyone else? Anything you're grateful for this month? I'd love to hear. Or, anyone have any additional ideas for trying to stay happy and positive?

Have a great weekend everyone! Monday is a holiday but I'll be back on Tuesday with new posts!