Read here long enough and you'll realize that this blog is a platform for a certain (read: large amount) of bitching. I don't intentionally use it to complain; rather, I just chose not to censor myself. For me, being a mother means hiding a lot of what I'm really feeling from my kids in order not to shatter their fragile little psyches and in an attempt to prevent them from growing up to be serial killers. "Does Mommy want to read "Where Is Baby's Birthday Cake?" for the 47th time today? Of course, she does!" "Would she like to pick up your thrown sippy cup from the floor for the 12th time in the past three minutes? Not.A.Problem."

So that's why on this blog, I let the freak flag fly. Thank you for sticking by me and not turning away in disgust each time a new post shows up in your reader.

Believe it or not, there are certain things that actually do make me happy. In fact, I devoted an entire post to one of them recently! Melissa challenged me to list 10 Things That Make Me Happy. Like she did, I'm not going to list the "givens" of kids, family, friends, etc. because obviously these would appear on the list. Maybe. I'm also not going to list running, because you already know about that one.

So, here are the things that make me happy, in no particular order:

1. Starbucks (with this aspect of the company being the exception); and specifically my drink of choice: a Grande, Non-Fat Caramel Macchiato. I've been drinking this one since high school, and other than the new (and unfortunately seasonal) Caramel Brulee Latte, there is little on this earth that makes me happier than enjoying a Caramel Macchiato in...

2. Complete Silence. In my house, someone is screaming or crying virtually every 30 seconds. It's to the point now that I don't even run into the room where the screaming is occurring because the twins scream and cry when there is absolutely nothing physically wrong 90% of the time. Even before becoming a mother, I clung to the quiet. I have always loved libraries and book stores and hated bars and big parties for exactly this reason. With silence so incredibly rare in my life right now, nothing makes me happier than the moments (and preferably hours) when I have it.

3. Eating alone, while reading the newspaper. This is a big one for me. Huge, in fact. I've been eating my lunches alone while the kids are "napping" since Isabella was born. I do not like being interrupted when I eat (are you laughing now? You should be. I have three small children and haven't eaten an uninterrupted breakfast or dinner in years). But lunch? Lunch is all mine. Between meeting the kids' various and sundry requests and demands, helping the twins eat, and wiping up messes from the table, floor, and everywhere in between, I would end up eating either standing up, or not at all. And on the weekends, I let the hubs run breakfast in the dining room, while I eat at the kitchen counter with the newspaper.

4. Traveling. Probably not even worth a mention given the title of this blog, but visiting a city or country that I've never visited before, immersing myself in the culture and experiencing a way of life wholly different than my own is something that makes me incredibly happy. This was a big part of my pre-kids life, and I miss it every day.

5. The all-too-brief moments when I enter each of my children's rooms in the morning. It is the calm before the storm (and the storm always comes) when they are happy to see me, warm and rosy-cheeked from sleep, and itching to start the day. They're not (yet) screaming or making me wish I could hand them to a neighbor and go speeding off in my car. Every single day I get them up and think that perhaps this will be the day when things will start to get easier. One of these days, it will.

6. Baths. Scalding hot, no bubbles, and a good book.

7. Watching my husband do manual labor. I know what you are thinking, and trust me, it's not that. The hubs is not handy. We are "call someone and have him/her fix it" people. And he is a "tv-and-the-couch" kind of guy. But on the rare occasion when he's fixing or installing something (and most especially when he does these things without my having to beg him to do them), it's fantastic.

8. Writing. It is my life. It is what I was always meant to do. I've been writing stories and poems since I was able to hold a pencil, and diaries and journals whose purpose as an emotional outlet probably saved my life more than once. I may not always write about my passions, but even writing about mundane topics to pay the bills excites me. Crafting perfect sentences (using proper grammar, which is essential in Kristi's Word-Nerd World) is a rush for me.

9. Thunderstorms (assuming my Internet connection stays on).

10. My cats. While they do vomit on my furniture and chase eachother around the house at 4am, they do not scream, require diaper changes, or undress themselves 13 times a day. And that makes me love them very much.

I'm supposed to tag 10 people for this, but instead, just let me know if you complete this list so I can read yours.