In case you haven’t heard, we got a little rain down here in Houston Sunday night. It was a fantastic storm whose thunder (and the flash flood alarms on our phones) kept us up all night and caused a little girl to crawl into bed with me for the first time ever in the wee hours of the morning. Thankfully, our house was fine, but our brand new tree got uprooted and fell over in the yard. Many, many Houstonians weren’t so lucky and are dealing with flooded homes and cars and lost possessions. Grayson’s school flooded AGAIN but mercifully was able to reopen today. Due to high water in our area, we didn’t leave the house all day Monday or Tuesday, and only got out for about an hour today to pick up some new shoes at the mall for Grayson and Charlotte. Both of them, and Ryan, will go back to school tomorrow, which will be nice. We’ve had a lot of togetherness the past few days.

Anyway, I’ve been wanting to do a post on things I’m currently loving, and thought a rainy week when I’m low on patience would be a good time to share some happiness.

1. My first post on Houston Moms Blog is up today! I am so excited to be a part of this talented group of ladies and have really enjoyed getting to know them all. And I love seeing my writing published and shared for a larger audience. Thank you to all who shared this post today- I wrote it hoping it will help people know how to help their kids engage with special needs kids.

2. Playing outside. I am not much of a sit on the floor and play pretend birthday party with 100 stuffed animals enthusiast, but want to ride bikes, throw a ball around or go down the twisty slide ten times in a row? I’m in. Every day, I beg Charlotte to go outside and ride scooters with me in the cul de sac (she would rather play said pretend birthday party). I seriously could ride scooters for hours. I am forever 10 years old. 

3. The eye-rolling emoji. I think I use this 25 times a day.

4. This mascara. A few months ago, I heard Jamie Ivey talk about this “tube mascara” that doesn’t smudge at all, and I SO wanted to buy it, but just couldn’t justify $31 for mascara. I have a huge problem with mascara running all over my face and usually just don’t wear it at all because I don’t want to deal with looking like a raccoon 5 minutes after I walk out the door. But then I found this one for about 1/4 the price and am happy to report I like it- and I’ve had minimal smudging. And the best part is the little “tubes” just wash right off!

5. The Popcast. I’d like to add this show to my list of favorite podcasts. The hosts have great chemistry and are just generally HILARIOUS.

What are you loving these days?