Today is the last day of my kiddo's spring break. That means it's also the last day of me "working from home" from my parents place in Florida. While I am stuck during the day, it's been a great trip hanging out with my family. Also, kiddo gets such joy in catching lizards that those moments alone are worth the trip.

Here's what was good about this week:

• Visiting a nature preserve and seeing a ton of birds and gators
• Greek beet salad
• Artemis splashdown and all the moon joy they brought with them
• Bonding with other moms who were also travelling solo
• Not setting a morning alarm
• Taking some after dinner walks
• Fudgy brownies
• Kiddo's strong opinions about her summer wardrobe

The coffee felt extra dark this morning. I don't know why, but it fit my taste buds perfectly. Every now and then, I just want a very strong tasting mug to start the day. 

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• Lots of questions about collaborating with the library after our presentation
• Sunshine
• Prepping for a work from home week (clean all the files!)
• My brother popped into town for a quick visit
• Listening to a podcast while exercising
• Cleaned up my work office
• Pickles
• Kiddo changed the empty toilet paper roll - all by herself - entirely unprompted
• Hubby and I both nabbed Olympic ticket draw slots (and he's going to stay up until 1am to buy everything)

It looks like the kiddo loves spring flowers as much as I do. Our neighborhood is in bloom. On our walks to school, she's constantly stopping to look at the petals. We've even used iNaturalist to help us identify the ones I don't know. It might slow us down, but it's made the trip to school more fun.

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• Freshly laundered sheets and towels
• Won the basket I wanted at the school fundraising auction
• Lavender scented everything
• Spotted a bunny in some daffodils
• Sitting in the sun while the kiddo played on the playground
• Simple dinners
• Watching the Artemis II launch as a family
• Teaching a class of super chatty and engaged students

I took today off from work as a "life maintenance" day. Man does it feel good to knock a few items off of my needle list.

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• All the trees are in bloom...
• ... which I can enjoy because I, thankfully, don't have allergies
• Spotting a coyote on the walk to school with the kiddo
• Reheating yummy leftovers for lunch
• Having fun with a work social media project
• Going to a hockey game as a family
• Kiddo's teacher posting pictures of the school day
• Enjoying a movie in a theater for the first time in years
• Helping a student get to an "Ah ha!" moment
• Getting the kiddo to school - on picture day - before the rain hit

The day outside is brilliantly sunny. It's been pretty sunny for the past few days, but I've been stuck in inside conference ballrooms in a basement. Getting a full day of sunshine feels like a treat.

Here's what else made me smile:

• People asked lots of questions after my conference presentation
• Treating myself to some lunches out
• No issues with the metro
• Kiddo calling daffodils "egg flowers" (white on the outside, yellow on the inside)
• Still getting to drop off and pick up my kiddo from school
• Finishing and filing my taxes 
• Singing "Umbrella" in the car with the kiddo
• Following a silly Instagram account just because it brought me joy

School is closed today but we got the kiddo into her art camp. I can't wait to see what she's made when I pick her up. The recent projects have been outstanding.

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• A polite snow with HUGE flakes that didn't really stick
• Eating lunch with my bestie and kiddo at a restaurant I love
• Deciding to just go ahead and buy the entire series of books
• Family brunch
• I flew through the creation of a presentation deck
• The quotes I drew for an exhibit turned out as I had imagined in my head
• Kiddo spent a morning making paper fortune tellers
• Date night with an extra trip to a wine bar

Yesterday, DC was socked in with heavy fog. It was spooky. But through the fog there was an abundance of bird calls. Even the kiddo was quieter on our walk to school as we listened. It was a sweet moment with nature.

Here's what else was good this week:

• Finally installed an exhibit we've been planning for months (and getting immediate kudos)
• Kiddo came home ecstatic that she just pet a dog
• Coming back to a clean condo
• Starting a charming, cozy fantasy novel
• Laundry room totally empty at a time it's usually busy
• Taking a long walk as a family on a beautiful day
• Working with a group of colleagues who rally around one another
• Kiddo sticking her stuffy's head outside her backpack, "So he can breathe"

On my walk to school with the kiddo, it was foggy. Not dense pea soup fog - just the misty hazy fog that makes everything feel mystical. It was also quieter than usual. The kiddo was a chatty Cathy on the way in, but I got to enjoy the calm vibes on my trip home. Both legs of my trip were a nice way to start my Friday.

Here's what else made me smile:

• Watching the US men's hockey game replay with my husband (*ignores aftermath which I'm super surly about*)
• Kiddo ADORED her first skiing experience
• Neighbor dropped off a mis-delivered package and saved me a trip
• There were some super engaged students in one of my classes
• Kiddo and her dad built a snow tower as tall as her
• Reading in a sunny spot
• My parents sending pictures of the excellent food they're eating in Italy

We decided to take our kiddo for her first skiing lesson this weekend. I don't know what's better - the kiddo's excitement or my husband's excitement at maybe finally having someone to ski with him. (I don't do cold or fast.) I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• Catered lunch at work
• Second screening the Olympics while in the office
• Showing off our family-friendly study room
• Taking a cake pop class with the the kiddo
• Finding a survey template to reuse
• Reading my book while waiting for the kiddo to finish a double gymnastics session
• Catching up with my post-college roomies over dinner and sangria
• Making dinner out of leftovers in the freezer

Thursday and Friday are usually work from home days. This week, I was in the office every day since several of my colleagues were at conferences. I have to admit, I was a bit grumpy trudging to work today. But, things turned around when a someone else at our University showed up and started handing out little boxes of Valentine's chocolates. Then, an hour later, a colleague said their event overordered on breakfast items. I happily refilled my travel cup with decaf and snagged a mini croissant.

Here's what else made me smile this week:

• Using my second monitor or split tab option to stream the Olympics while working
• "Mom! Hug time!"
• Learning a student group was eager to work with the library
• Being able to walk to the grocery store
• Warmer temperatures
• Kiddo clearing out the library of Mo Willems books
• Having BLTs for dinner and hearing the kiddo exclaim, "OMG! This is so good!"
• Tossing together a conference lightning talk in an hour
• Being asked to serve on a conference panel
• Buying fun stamps
• Getting photos/videos from my family while they're at the Olympics