You make me so very happy ...

The lovely Muddling Along Mummy has welcomed me back into the blogging fold by tagging me with the Happy 101 Meme. Sometimes in the fug of everyday life - the endless rounds of feeding, cooking, cleaning - it's hard to step back and take note of the good stuff, so taking part is my attempt to right the balance! Here, in no particular order, are 10 things currently making me happy ...

Friends
I'm not sure I can put into words how lucky I am to have a group of fabulous friends providing support, advice, entertainment and sanity-saving in equal measure. I've tried to write something here, a fitting tribute I suppose, and deleted it every time as it doesn't seem to do them justice. I hope they know who they are.

Cake
Particularly Cherry Bakewell Cake. Easy to make, delicious to eat, especially with the above.

Sitting up
C is now sitting reliably for longer periods. It means I can sit her alongside her brother in the front seats of the supermarket trolley. Admittedly I then have to watch the shelves on both sides in case unwanted items are swept into the basket, but seeing them both interacting, able to 'talk' at the same level, hold hands, swap toys, is truly a joy.

Splashy baths
Or 'doing raining' as T calls it. Three in a bath tires everyone out for bedtime.

My Bugaboo (but I'm not a buggy snob, honest!)
I did so love my Micralite buggy. It was cheap, light, folded small and could be pushed one handed. In fact I spent an awful lot of time pushing it like that when T was small. Once he outgrew the carrycot I popped him into the forward facing pushchair and stepped out of the door. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed some more. A small child with separation anxiety who can't see his Mummy is Not Good. This time we used the carrycot attachment for the first few months and once C was ready to move into the seat unit bit the bullet and bought a rear-facing pushchair, a second hand Bugaboo Bee. The freedom to shop or walk whilst she chats away happily is wonderful, and guess what, the baby who knows Mummy's there will even close her eyes and nap without fuss. When T is tired I can sling C and he hops on for a ride. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Squeaky cheese
It's summer! Well, maybe not, but it's warmer than it was, and warm means salads, and salads means halloumi!

Holiday planning
On maternity leave and with an upcoming house move, money is tight. It must be, we're going on 'holiday' to the inlaws' this summer and with them this autumn. I was really pleased then to win a free long weekend to Bluestone in Wales. We've been before, it's utterly fab, and no rellies. Hurrah! Roll on May.

Next and their ridiculously large clothing sizes
T is wearing his 9-12m shorts for the third summer in a row, leaving me more money to spend on funky summer t-shirts.

Looking forward, not back
I never thought it would make me happy to admit I will never be a size 12 again. I recently unpacked a suitcase of clothes last worn in 2006, the summer before I got pregnant with T. Four years and two breastfed children meant I could barely squeeze into them. I would like to lose weight, I don't want to be my current size forever, but having them in the bottom of the wardrobe waiting for me to shrink by what in all honestly would probably have to be three stone wasn't doing anyone any good. So I sold them. I bought some nice new things in my new size with the cash, and posting the parcels let me indulge my wrapping fetish!

Toddler cheek
'Don't tell me what to do ... nice try Mummyo'
Sometimes you have to laugh.

I have been pretty slow with this Meme and I'm pretty sure everyone I'd have tagged has already completed it. If you're reading this and you haven't, why not give it a go?