Simple Pleasures

I am inspired tonight by a post I read at Kelly's Korner earlier in the week about simple pleasures. Kelly's post got me thinking about the simple things in life that we tend to take for granted when we're busy running from work to soccer practice to open house to a board meeting and finally back home. We tend to get so wrapped up in the chaos of every day life, that we forget to take time to 'stop and smell the roses'.

Here are a few of my simple pleasures:

* BABY HEAD! There is nothing better than the smell of freshly washed baby (or toddler or preschooler for that matter!)!

* A handwritten note from B. I don't get many, but I keep the ones I get and I have a collection of little ones on my desk at work.

* An hour at Starbucks with my mom... It doesn't happen often, but I sure enjoy it! If it's followed with a trip to Kohl's, it's even better!

* Sitting down to a meal at home with my family. Since B works most evenings, the nights that we all eat together are especially nice.

* Sunday night dinners with Grandma and Grandpa. It's a new tradition we've started and I LOVE it!

* Relaxing in my bed with a good book or a DVRed TV show after the kids go to bed.

* Waking up in the middle of the night and realizing that you still have an hour or more to sleep! YEAH!

* A chance to get together with friends without the kids. I love my kids more than anything, but it's nice to have uninterrupted adult time, as well.

* Falling asleep to the sound of pouring rain or a rushing river or creek... SO PEACEFUL!

* The hills changing from ugly summer brown to lush winter green.

These are a few of my simple pleasures. Some of them are things I can do whenever I want and some of them are things that only happen once or twice a year but I enjoy them nonetheless.

I challenge you in the coming week to take time to step out of your daily routine and think about the simple pleasures that are important to YOU. Take a moment to leave me a comment and tell me what they are!