Everything isn’t awesome, but these things are.

I could go on for days and days about all the things driving me nuts at any given moment.

Right now, for instance? If you were to ask, I’d warm up by whining about the 3 light bulbs that are currently burned out in our house that I’m hoping Jeff will notice and replace because I don’t wanna.

Then I’d move along to complaining about Forrest’s habit of insisting he has cleaned his room when really all he’s done is put away the toys he likes best and left the rest of the room looking like an explosion has taken place.

I think I’d wrap it up with either Darcy’s deep desire to catapult herself down the stairs, or maybe her desperation to walk but inability to do so that results in her insisting on being baby-stepped everywhere she needs to go, or quite possibly I’d tell you about her swiftly vanishing morning naps (noooooo!!!) and how very, very sad I am at the prospect of losing those morning naps.

But I doubt anyone wants to hear about all that. (Although, if you do, I have plenty of material.)

In a conscious effort to be more positive, though (something that does not come naturally to me, shockingly!!), read on for some awesome things about the kids right now.

Awesome thing #1: This photo was totally staged, but even so, these two really are fond of each other (most of the time), and I think that is wonderful. Getting a kiss from Darcy is like pulling teeth unless the person requesting kisses is Forrest. If he asks for some loving, she is happy to oblige. Seeing them love each other is just beautiful.

Awesome thing #2: Darcy will eat anything, and so much of it. After years of dealing with Forrest’s picky eating, this is a relief that can’t be overstated. Girlfriend loves almost every food she’s ever tasted, and has a great appetite. I’ve never had to worry if she’s eating enough, or if she’s going to bed hungry, or if there’s enough variety in her diet. She loves it all, and gobbles down every meal. And it’s awesome, especially compared with her brother who usually makes dinner a chore.

Awesome thing #3: I know he’s being manipulative, but it’s in the very cutest possible way: Forrest has learned exactly what requests will get him extra time and attention before bed. The winning questions are “Will you read me a book?”, “Will you give me 5 more minutes of snuggles?”, and “Can I tell you the best part of my day?” We both know he’s just trying to weasel a few more minutes out of the bedtime routine, but I don’t even care. Those questions are darling, and I know the days are numbered that he will want to snuggle and chat with me before bed, so I’m usually okay with giving him those few more minutes before he falls asleep.

Awesome thing #4: Darcy has a longstanding love affair with the little bear in the picture above, and it’s just the cutest relationship ever. I recently bought an identical bear to keep as a backup, and the couple of minutes she spent snuggling the twin bears simultaneously before I put one away for safekeeping were probably the happiest minutes of her life. Seeing her cuddle the bear against her cheek—and selflessly offer it to me for snuggles, too—is just precious.

Awesome thing #5: Forrest has always been an early riser, and if we didn’t stop him, he’d be up and busy by 5:30 every morning. Not cool. We put a clock in his room and taught him that he couldn’t leave his room until 6:00—it took a few weeks for this to sink in, but now he is very good about not coming out before 6 (and if he wakes up before 6, which I suspect he does, he just plays or ‘reads’ books in his room).

But still, 6 AM is kinda early for me. I can already hear the supermothers gearing up for a marathon nag sesh after I reveal this nugget of A+ parenting, but this is how we roll around here: Forrest leaves his room at 6, goes downstairs by himself, and plays with the iPad by himself until I get up around 7. That extra hour of sleep he lets me sneak in while he entertains himself0 is pretty awesome.

I’d love to hear what’s awesome at your house right now, too.