mandatory end of the year sappy post

Yup. Another year has come and gone, and we're fully in the season of end-of-the-year lists again. I hopped on the bandwagon in 2007, decided it would be fun to give it another whirl in 2008, and now I feel a bloggy duty to continue the tradition in 2009. Once again, I've been jotting down notes and coming up with the perfect items for this year's:


The Top Ten Things that I Liked, Laughed At, Smiled About, or Generally-Remember-in-a-Fond-Way of 2009.

10. The Internets is a funny, funny place.
Oh, the places you can go online for a laugh. Do you admit to bouts of schadenfreude? The FAIL blog is the site for you. Looking for little moments of WIN instead? Head over to It Made My Day. Want to see Google mess with people's minds? You can't miss Autocomplete Me. Or maybe it's the hilarity that is Awkward Family Photos that's perfect for you. There are certainly a TON more out there, but these happen to be the ones that I've found myself giggling to the most this year.

9. Reading is FUNdamental!
Back in January, I was bursting with joy to be joining the lovely ladies at 5 Minutes for Books as a staff reviewer, and the thrill of receiving books in the mail, followed by getting the opportunity to share my opinions about them in review form was overwhelming and sorta unbelievable. Now with over 100 reviews and essays posted on the site, I feel a little bit more established, but I still get totally giddy to see a package on my doorstep. Free books and a chance to write about them? WIN.

8. Who you calling blogger?
That's me, baby! With almost three years residence at this little home on the web, I happily bought the domain morninglightmama.com and planted my flag here. I've made myself joyful with my silly BNL series as well as my semi-weekly guffaws. I like chronicling the things I hear on NPR that make me think, and as usual, I mostly spent the year blogging about a whole lot of nothing. I've begun to spread out online too, as I was thrilled to join the DC Metro Moms family this fall, and I'm trying my darndest to submit posts that are even half as amazing as their regular offerings! This is me embracing my blogger status with a huge grin on my face.

7. A popcorn kind of summer.
This was definitely the year with the Summer of Movies. I went to the movie theater eight times from May to August, which is probably the most since I was a teenager! And the best part? I don't think we had to pay a babysitter for any one of those times, because I either went with my best movie buddy L, or that same buddy babysat for payment in chips and dip while lovely hubby and I went out. Lots of laughs and a few tears came out of me while I lounged in the wonder that is a darkened movie theater, with no kids commanding my attention and at least 90 minutes away from the world. Good times.

6. Our future headliner at Caroline's.
Yes, everyone's child is the smartest and cutest kid to ever walk the face of the earth, I realize this. But as an official 'mommy blogger,' (see above), it is my duty to extol the virtues of my kids (while I try hard not to post too often about how much they drive me crazy). In this spirit, the newly-turned-2 year old Pudge, is by far, the funniest little kid around. From his goofy 'cheese face' grin to his hilarious habit of answering all questions asked of him with a finger tapped on his chin and a "Hmmmm...." or my favorite, "I don't know either," it's a major challenge to keep a straight face around him. He tells a mean knock knock joke, too, assuming both roles in the format, so that it comes out all in one fast breath: "Knock, knock, who's there, Mr. Potato Head!" He was one heck of a surprise, but one that has brought infinite laughter to our lives.

5. She moves creatively all day long.
Red got her wish this fall when she was finally old enough to take a dance class offered at our local community center. She's been in absolute heaven. Unfortunately, the gigantic never-ever-snows-like-this-in-DC storm last weekend forced the cancellation of her last class which was to be the first time parents got to watch a class. Thankfully though, she's signed up again for the next session, and that last class/show just happens to fall on her fourth birthday! This girl has music in her heart, that's for sure, as she's always singing her own little ditties or belting out her favorite songs while she plays, and her little body is always in motion. Maybe she got some coordination skills from her daddy and we'll be seeing her in a bigger tutu in years to come.

4. It must be in the genes.
Surrounded by books is a good way to describe our home life, and JAM has certainly continued in his love of reading this year. I've tried to read more stuff that he's interested in and is geared at his age group this year, and we had the pleasure of reading several books either together or concurrently over the last twelve months: Alienated, Captain Nobody, The Secrets of a Christmas Box, The Penderwicks, Hoot, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. And when September rolled around bringing The National Book Festival to town, he was by my side for author meetings and talks, and I felt so joyful for this hobby that we share. And we even reminisced about our days reading Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! when we met the beloved Mo Willems, reminding me that we've had nine incredible years of sharing the wonder of books!

3. Finding my groove at this staying at home thing.
It might not sound like much, but this year marked my third school year out of the workforce and I finally feel like I've found my footing. With Pudge getting out of the always-needing-to-be-held-or-taking-a-nap stage of infancy and early toddlerhood, the kids and I have gotten into a pretty steady weekday routine that moves like a well-oiled machine. Red, Pudge and I have even dipped a few toes into the world of project learning, and at last I feel pretty competent at keeping my to do lists in fairly good shape, putting some sort of meal on the table each night, and managing to keep three kids from strangling each other by the end of the day. Now that I've gotten in my groove, the talk has already begun about my eventual return to the world of working moms... but I'm holding on to this fantastic gig for as long as I can!

2. What's a four letter word for extreme happiness?
Or, what brought me immense joy on Wednesday nights this fall? Glee of course! I'm certainly not alone in my gleeky love for this show, and I even convinced lovely hubby to give it a try, who of course ended up loving it, too! (He even blogged about it himself!) Is it the music? Is it the impossibly beautiful supposed-high-schoolers? Is it the dark humor? Is it Jane Lynch? Yes, yes, yes, and hell yes! While April is a LONG way off until we get any new episodes, I'm making do with rewatching episodes online, like my favorite one of the season, and listening to the two CDs that have a permanent place atop the kitchen player. Yay for Glee!

1. 15 years isn't something to sneeze at!
Fifteen years ago, we were silly little freshman at a teeny, tiny college, and he was one of the tallest people I had ever met. We ran in the same friend circle a bit, and one winter snowstorm found us both part of a big group snowball fight. Later that winter, I remembered that he was the tall guy that threw me in the snow, but I guess I forgave him when I decided to kiss him. Through those years, we each watched as the other walked across the graduation stage, we moved into a variety of places we called home, we brought three beautiful children into this world, and we've laughed and laughed, and laughed some more. The years have transformed us from those goofy teenagers to the mature adults that we are today (ha!), and I'm looking forward to another first kiss of the new year with my lovely hubby.

Another year, another list of joys and smiles. I like to think of the end of the year as the closing of one chapter, with a whole new adventure waiting for us on the upcoming pages. Happy new year to you, and here's to 2010's happiness!