I raided our kiddo's Halloween candy stash (yes, she got a lot but mostly we eat it slowly) and swiped the FULL-SIZED bag of Skittles. I can't remember the last time I ate a full-sized of anything on my own. I have a feeling at least a quarter of this is going to be saved for later.

Here's what else made me smile this week.

• Adding cute library stickers from a conference to my bullet journal
• The start of Hallmark holiday movie season (at least in our household)
• Was more productive at work than anticipated one day
• Nabbed a lot spot
• Tossing two extra vacation days on my calendar before the end of the year
• My office space heater making me toasty
• Work buying stuff I need - with zero push back
• Getting to use cute kitty pictures on a project
• Kiddo's glee in helping to decorate

I'm listening in on a faculty union meeting as I write this post. Thankfully, it is far less contentious than our last meeting. I don't think I could have handled my stress level going that high on a Friday.

Here's what else made me smile this week:

• Getting to read, uninterrupted on an airplane
• Drinking hot coffee while waiting for my kiddo to finish a ballet class
• Catching up on all my podcasts while finally unpacking the last boxes in my office
• We got a few flakes of snow
• Walking through the Harry Potter Forbidden Forest experience
• Kiddo sang her own rendition of London Bridge
• The big gift we wanted for the kiddo came back in stock
• Keeping reusable packing lists online
• Getting our home professionally cleaned
• Good chats with all my mentees
• Edited a video I'm excited to share for work

I'm back home after my first trip to St. Louis for a conference. It was a quick visit so there are a few places I want to check out in the future. Good thing this conference will be going back to St. Louis for the next few years. 

Here's what else made me smile this week:

• On time and easy flights (even scored an extra leg room seat on the trip home)
• Visiting the Gateway Arch
• Lounging with sheet masks while watching The West Wing in my hotel room
• Pictures from my friends while they visit Japan
• Shockingly good catered conference lunches
• Finally fell into the story of the book I'm reading and excited that book two is already available for me to pick up at the library
• Kiddo used her own metro card for the first time
• Unpacking as soon as I got home

This was a hard week in which to find the good, but persevere we must. 

Here are the moments I'm holding onto:

• Holding my kid's hand on the walk to school
• Warm blankets
• A day with no meetings.
• ASMR videos
• Our kiddo's glee during her first hockey game.
• Texting my friends
• Setting boundaries and having a great support system to help me.
• A bag full of bakery goodies
• Having a cathartic cry in the shower

This year, on top of the usual candy selection, our kiddo came home from trick-or-treating with stickers, pencils, a popcorn snack bag, a hostess cupcake, and a banana dressed like a mummy. It was the most diverse bag of treats. The only one I, as a mom, side-eyed was the GIANT pixie stick.

Here's what else made me smile this week:

• Kiddo running the entire walk home (and then greeting her dad with a jump hug)
• Mild weather on Halloween
• Getting compliments on the candy we picked to hand out at the reference desk
• No traffic when I had to dash home for a forgotten item
• Arriving at work early
• Scrolling through social media for some positive vibe videos
• Catching up with some daycare parents
• Kiddo spotted an owl flying between the trees
• Being able to "magic resize" some graphic design elements

For the first time in weeks, our kiddo slept 11 hours straight. That means I got a full night's sleep. I almost forgot what that felt like. It was lovely to wake up fully rested.

Here's what else made me smile this week:

• All the Halloween decor in our neighborhood
• Hitting a candy sale for work
• Living in a building with great neighbors
• Romantasy books
• White chocolate covered Oreos
• The new doorstop on my office door
• Squeezing in a workout when I needed it
• Quick dinners
• Meeting up with friends for Boo at the Zoo
• Fuzzy slipper weather

Today is one of those days I am grateful for the auto-brew setting on our coffee pot. It's so nice to NOT have to worry about that each morning. 

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• Getting kudos at work
• Learning that a magazine is interested in featuring our new family friendly study space
• Space heaters
• Going out with friends on a week night
• Soft pretzels
• Visiting the pumpkin patch and apple orchard
• Putting the kiddo in a day camp even when I also had the day off
• Passing on our kiddo's convertible crib to a new family
• Our pandas are back!

I am not above feeding the algorithm on our library's social media accounts to get some clicks. We had my colleague bring in his kitty this week to star in a few posts. While it's hard working with animals, I think I got enough raw footage to make a few videos. Cats and librarians - what's not to love? Also, she was super cute and so, so soft.

Here's what else made me smile this week:

• My family in Florida escaped the worst of Milton (and had a sense of humor about it)
• Had our first parent-teacher conference and got some great news about our kiddo
• Set up our free leisure reading lending library for students
• Windows open weather
• My fantasy football team eking out a win
• Made a nice dent in my email newsletter backlog
• Nailed a parallel park in ONE try WITH people watching
• Got an excellent Too Good to Go mystery bag from the bakery down the street
• Our faculty union ratified our new contract
• Kiddo prancing around in her new, light up Elsa dress
• Attending a dance performance in a cool space that was accompanied by excellent live music

After what feels like 3 straight years of rain, the sun is finally out. I don't mind rainy weather - but it overstayed its welcome this time. My colleagues and I joked that we should cancel everything so we could go out to bask in the sun.  For now, I'll just enjoy the rays dappling through my window.

Here's what else made me smile:

• Eating at my favorite restaurant in DC
• Enjoying a quiet morning to myself after several days of chaos
• Turning a disruption into a quick, quirky video for work
• Kiddo's new found love for "The Wellerman"
• Clearing off some of the piles and things crowding mydesk
• A joyful interview with one of our students
• Kiddo sounding out and spelling the word "purple" mostly on her own
• Trying out the Too Good to Go app for the first time and scoring yummy cookies cheap

It has been raining all week. I'm fairly certain half of my shoes got soaked. It's rather annoying. Thankfully, I remembered to wear rain boots the one day on which I found myself outside in a deluge. At least my feet stayed dried that day.

Here's what else was good in my week:

• Kiddo screaming "Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad!" as she ran to hug him when he returned from his work trip
• Receiving notice that I did not have to report to jury duty
• My family in Florida avoided the worst of the hurricane
• A hot mug of dark roast black coffee
• Having a little bit of alone time at home after several days of solo parenting
• High quality bar soap
• Meeting a few of the kindergarten parents
• Getting back to working out
• Starting to play with the small rig my boss was able to get me
• Kiddo curled up against me as I read her a book
• Making plans to use a colleagues kitty in some library marketing videos