Q3: Now for the Non-Things

Even as I just think about what to include in my list of My Favorite Non-Thing Things for this quarter, I am overwhelmed by how wonderfully blessed life has been over the past few months. Our home has certainly been full of laughter and fun as we continue on in these Salad Days. I did manage to narrow my list to five Non-Things that were especially prevalent in making life just grand.

My Favorite Non-Thing Things of 2011, Q3...

1. Movies... my Hubby and I really enjoy a going to see a good movie.We like the whole experience: the popcorn, the $7.00 Coke, the bag of candy that is slipped into a box so that it looks larger than it really is, the dark theater, the lack of children, the feeling of being on a date, etc... Over the summer, we saw several grown-up  movies that I would give two very big thumbs' up. My favorite was probably the raunchy Horrible Bosses; I especially loved the unexpected roles played by Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farell. Crazy, Stupid Love didn't get a lot of buzz, but it was a really well-written, well-acted, thought out movie that actually included a fun, unexpected twist. I found Cameron Diaz hilarious and back to her Something About Mary roots in Bad Teacher, and I thought The Help was just as enjoyable as the book on which it's based. 
2. Family Here and There... once again, we've been fortunate to get to spend time with several members of our extended families despite living close to none of them. In July we spent a weekend in Estes Park, Colorado, with my hubby's side of the family including three sets of aunts and uncles (who we were excited to introduce to our Murphy Girl for the first time), two cousins, Aunt Kiki, and Pops-N-Misha. The weather was wonderful and the company fantastic... can't wait to see the whole crew at Thanksgiving. Then, in early August the girls and I flew to North Carolina where we spent a week in the Outerbanks with my sibs, their kiddos, and Pa-N-Nanny. Carter had a ball playing with her 'big' cousins and Murphy relished all the attention. The following week we met up with the Bowman clan in Greensboro. Family from Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, and we Coloradans converged at Great-Grandma-Margie's home for a fun afternoon of visiting and reconnecting. It was especially fun to see Murphy side by side with her cousin (second cousin?) Carson who is just a few weeks younger than she, and Carter was completely enthralled with Big Girl Miss Gigi!
3. Organizing Extravaganzas... the rush I get from embarking on organizational projects simply cannot be explained. From coming up with the initial idea and thinking it through to shopping for materials to the actual implementation, I absolutely LOVE it! This summer alloted me several opportunities for major projects. I took advantage of Hubby and Pookie being away for the weekend to rearrange the pantry, making better use of the space and grouping like items in neat baskets with handles that make them act almost as drawers on the shelves. I loved two of my other projects so much that I dedicated entire blog posts to them. The system for keeping track of the Little Things has worked out great as the pictures show Carter exactly where the toys belong making solo clean up a breeze for her. She loves showing her little friends how to put things in the correct spots!
4. Family Firsts... few things are more exciting than watching my little ones experience things for the first time. How easy it is for us grown-ups to take advantage of things we've been doing or seeing for years! For Carter, she really began to stretch her wings a bit and try several new activities as well as attending a new school. She immediately loved soccer and gymnastics and has done a great job of staying on task and listening to her coaches. Though ballet was the activity that she expressed the most interest in trying, after about four weeks of classes, she decided that it wasn't for her. I love the fact that she knows what she likes and doesn't like and feels comfortable sharing her opinions with me. She even asked if she could do a second day of gymnastics in lieu of of the ballet; I gladly obliged! As for Murphy Girl, this has been a period of firsts-galore! She began crawling, standing on her own, and 'cruising' all within a few weeks in August. She now zooms all over the place -including up the stairs- but is still hesitant to take that first step. She has also become quite the little talker! My heart is warmed at hearing her precious little voice. I especially love the sound of her 'uh-oh' although I'm a tad skeptical of the fact that she looks me directly in the eye and says it before dropping an item... 
5. A Whirlwind Wedding Weekend... the Hubby and I had a blast spending a weekend in Raleigh to be a part of the wedding of one of his dear friends. Dash and my Hubby lived together in Charlotte when he and I met; so, having been a part of our early days together, Dash has a very special place in my heart.We were able to reconnect with the all the folks who were a part of the Charlotte crew at that time despite that fact they they are now living all over the world. It was also fun getting to spend more time with Dash's fantastic now-wife, Drake, and meeting all of her sweet friends. I got a kick out of having conversations with all these hip single gals from NYC about my life as a Mommy in Denver... quite contrasting! Being with all these friends both new and old (and being there without my kids) made me feel young again! Additionally, there are few better memories than witnessing my husband, stone cold sober, throw on a viking hat and tear it up on the dance floor! 

As usual, the Non-Thing Things trumped the Things by a mile!