yup, it's another top ten

The end of the year can bring out a lot of emotions, desires, memories, and hopes for the future.  It also can mean a whole helluva lot of lists.  Lists make me happy, did you know that?  If I had a superpower, it would be to make lists to solve all the world's problems.  Yeah.  Anyway.  The end of the year, in bloggy terms at least, has had me compiling a top ten of sorts since waaaay back in 2007.  Since I did it again in 2008, I felt it was a tradition by 2009, and how could I resist keeping the tradition alive for 2010?  After rereading the last three years' worth of joys, I'm hoping that this year's list can bring some happiness to me when I look back on it someday!

The Top Ten Things that I Liked, Laughed At, Smiled About, or Generally-Remember-in-a-Fond-Way of 2010.

10.  Not quite 100, but closer than ever before.
Okay, I'm starting off with what could be perceived as a failure, but I'm opting to look at it as an almost-met-goal that's still impressive.  I had hoped to read 100 books this year, but I'm closing out the year with a total of 94, close enough for me.  (Hey, I'm easy to please.)  For a while there, it began to get a little tedious, and I wondered if I was choosing to spend time reading a book just so I could cross another off the list, and the last thing I want to do is turn reading into a chore.  So, I sat out my occasional slumps and returned to books when I felt the joyful urge to read once again.  I'm happy that this year's list includes a wider variety than my past reading choices- some nonfiction, some memoirs, some middle-grade and YA picks, some classics, and of course many novels.  Fun, fun!  

9.  My own little piece of Patch.
This year brought a big first-- the first time I've ever received cold hard cash for tapping away at the keys of my netbook.  Yup, by pure chance, the editor of our town's Patch site (that was soon to be debuting) happened upon the book sale tent where I was volunteering over the Labor Day weekend.  I was aware of the cool new Patch endeavors since my 5M4B editor was writing for her local site in Connecticut, and I asked if our town's site was still looking for writers.  A meeting with the editor later, and I was officially a new weekly columnist writing about what comes most naturally to me at this point in my life- parenting three wacky kids.  Bringing Up Three, Greenbelt Style began in late September and posts a new tidbit from yours truly every Tuesday.

8.  Just call me Simon Cowell.
Alright, I'm on a panel of judges, but I hope I didn't channel that British buffoon.  I'm talking about the Cybils Awards, of course, the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards.  We're a bunch of kidlit loving bloggers out to award fabulous books released during the year.  For the second year in a row, I was thrilled to be a part of the Fiction Picture Book award selection process, and this year I served on the Round One Panel instead of as one of the final judges.  That means I tried my darnedest to get my hands on every one of the 262 nominated books, which was a bit of a challenge for some titles.  Thanks to some gracious publishers, our local library, and the wonderful interlibrary loan system, I got a hold of 248 as of today!  The finalists will be announced on January 1st-- woo-hoo!

7.  Our friends ARE family.
Sometimes I wonder how we got so lucky on the friend track in our adult lives, as we are honored to be able to call so many folks our extended family because of their friendship.  This year brought many, many weekend nights spent hanging out with pals, two awesome camping trips with friends brave enough to spend 48 straight hours with the five of us, some fun group celebrations that will go down as the best nights of the year, and the happy renewal of a 20+ year old friendship from way back in elementary school.  We couldn't be any luckier.

6.  Wii love Mem and Pepe!
My parents live a long car drive away, and the way life is right now, we don't get to see each other more than once or twice a year, unfortunately.  But, 2010 allowed for a couple of fabulous visits that will definitely be remembered in a happy light.  When the kids and I crashed at their house for almost three weeks this summer, they never blinked an eye, and I certainly know that we disrupted their quiet routines!  We were thrilled when they were able to come down here for the long weekend after Thanksgiving, and the kids always love any time they get with them.  We also opted to break out the Wii with Mem and Pepe, and we discovered that JAM makes a good teacher!    

5.  Fandom must be in the genes.
On her fourth birthday this year, Red was given a gift from a dear friend of tickets to a stage performance of Knuffle Bunny, the book by our very favorite children's author, Mo Willems.  When we discovered that Mo himself would be at the very same performance, she was also given the opportunity to right a wrong from her past- the very first time she attended a Mo Willems' signing event and screamed her bloody head off at him.  After the show, she patiently waited her turn to chat with Mo for a few minutes, and she graciously asked (all by herself!!) if he would sign the picture that she brought of that infamous screaming meeting.  Mo was as gracious as always and did so, and my little girl, on her fourth birthday, showed that she can be as big a fan as her mommy, especially as she so eagerly showed off her signed hand to anyone who would look!

4.   Pudge befriended the potty.  And there was much rejoicing.
When the last of one's children leaves the world of diaper changes behind, it is a lovely, lovely occurrence.  A couple months shy of his third birthday, all signs were there that it was time.  So, one day we simply didn't put a diaper on, but opted for some cool new pairs of big boy underwear, and with a few reminders and a couple of days under his belt, he got it.  Now he's completely independent in his dressing and bathroom responsibilities, and I'm one happy mama.  While my kids may be handfuls in other areas, I'll always be grateful that none of them took more than five days to go from diapers to potty experts!

3.  The kid is double digits!
I remember the excitement I felt when I turned ten, and the power that the "double digits" phrase held.  Well, it was JAM's year, and I think he may have been just a tad excited, too.  Dinner and cake with some friends on his birthday was followed by a party with pals at the pool just before school began at the end of August.  The times, they are definitely a-changing as he's getting older, and he's on that rocky ledge between childhood and adolescence that can be rife with uncertainty about just which world feels right.  Other than my shock that we've been parents for an entire decade, it was a blast welcoming him to the world of double digits!

2.  He sure is a handy hubby.
The strongest memories from this year revolve around home renovation projects, and unfortunately, there wasn't much liking, laughing or smiling at the time.  Busted pipes, moldy walls, and damaged floors made for the biggest of the home projects yet, and my DIY hubby got his hands dirty with so very much of the work, leaving just the biggest stuff to the pros.  The main level of our home now sports a beautiful new tile floor, and all the pipes in the house are new and hopefully leak-proof from now on.  In addition to that gigantic project, he also designed and built a new loft bed for Red, so that the two bedrooms could be reallocated by gender among the kids.  And though small in scope, I'm thrilled with the three-tier shelf he built to hold the kids' shoes by our front door.  I'm not sure he feels such happiness as he thinks about these projects, but I'm thrilled to see them getting completed!

1.  35 is thrilling fun!
I turned 35 this year, and what a birthday month it was!   A delicious dinner out with friends on my birthday began the festivities, including some incredible Baked and Wired cupcakes.  A few days later, a friend joined me for an evening of my favorite music- Mr. Steven Page!  The evening turned out to be so much more than I had expected, and definitely made for a birthday month highlight!  On the heels of that incredible night, I headed off with some gal pals for the First Annual Ladies' Weekend, which will forever be remembered as a relaxing, low-key 48 hours.  (In which no one touched me.  That was my one requirement... I needed a break!)  And upon returning from that glorious, but way-too-short trip, I went out and got inked.  Tattoo number one, baby!  While I blabbed on about it over on Facebook, I never really got around to sharing my tattoo announcement over here.  Four simple words, in a basic type and 35-size font, on the inside of my left forearm in tribute to my favorite novel, The Time Traveler's Wife.  The line that I chose, from near the end of the novel, seems to perfectly sum up the story for me and what I always want to remember from this novel that has resonated with me since I first read it years ago.

You could say that 2010 wasn't the easiest year in our family's history, but there were certainly some incredible highlights and moments of pure joy.  I'm hoping for more times like this list in 2011, and maybe, just maybe, a whole lot less in the home improvement needs category!


Many wishes for laughs and love in 2011,