Right now ...

I'm feeling ... grateful for Mike and his willingness to take lots of photos. I'm the primary memory keeper and photographer in our home. But that can be tricky when I'm traveling for work. It's inevitable that I miss things. I'm grateful Mike is so willing to take pictures. Even better, he takes the pictures and then sends me as soon as he snaps them. It's a double bonus for me, since he captures the memory and then also makes me feel like I'm there, since he texts me right away to share the moment.

I'm looking forward ... to Halloween. Shelby is thinking she wants to be a unicorn or a female version on Davy Crockett. Cooper is going to be a skeleton. He decided he wanted to be a skeleton months ago and hasn't wavered, so skeleton it is.

I'm thrilled ... Cooper has taken the final step to be potty trained. He's been a hold out when it comes to his poopy-business. He'd save it for about 6 p.m. each night, when he changed out of his underwear and into a pull-up (all on his own). Last week he started using the potty for everything (again, all on his own). My friend Elle Jaye told me to stop obsessing over the whole issue and instead have a neutral response to all things potty related. No cheering for using the potty. No sad face for a pull-up. Just neutral. We did this for a little less than a month and on his own, he made the switch. Elle Jaye said, "Non-attachment to an outcome is very difficult as parents, but really solves a lot of problems ..." I need to tuck this away for the future as I'm sure we'll need to come back to it.

I'm reading ... The Accidental Creative and loving it. It's such an inspiring book. Every word is something that I need to hear and motivates and inspires me. It's a kick in the pants of sorts.

I'm recovering ... from a broken tooth, root canal and infection (in that order). I hate, hate having dental work done, but when my tooth broke in half I had no choice. Then came a root canal, which was no walk in the park. But worst of all was the infection that followed. I couldn't chew on one side of my mouth and was in constant pain. A week of antibiotic and I'm finally better.

I'm planning ... our upcoming adults-only trip to Miami. Mike has a conference to attend and I'm tagging along for the fun of it. There will be sun. There will be beaches. There will be trips to the spa. And all of this during the week of my 39th birthday. PRetty awesome.

What are you doing right now? Any good books or music your listening to? TV shows to recommend? Do tell, I always love a good recommendation.