Little things mean big smiles

You can't buy happiness!  That is what they say right?  Well I happen to believe in that statement to the fullest.  I am surrounded by multiple income families with children that have a fancier cellphones than I do and sometimes think about if we had more money and I was working full time would we be happier?  Sure our Christmases would probably be bigger and we would have fancier vacations but would it be better than say what I am able to do now?  I would have to say no.  I think that the fact that I am able to stay home, gives me the time to do the little things that the children may even think of now, but will hopefully appreciate in the future.

Happiness to me is something that can be achieved with a little creativity.  There are things that you can find that will make your family happy in an instant.   We are big sports fans at our house so when there is a good sporting event on, I try to make fun finger food that goes with the game.  During the Superbowl, I pulled out all of the stops.  We had homemade wings and fresh cut veggies and dip and some really great cheese sticks that I made in the oven from Farm Rich.  We also had crackers with cheese and lunch meats cut up to have as finger food.  I even got football napkins to go with the theme.  Now I would have needed to make dinner anyways so why not make it a little special. 

Another thing that my family does that we all enjoy is riding our bikes down to the local park.  I have a trailer on the back for Samantha and everyone else rides their bikes.  I love watching little Samantha go up and down the slide while the boys are playing football with their dad.  Someone always has a frisbee so we are constantly keeping an eye out for that to come whizzing by.  I think what makes it all special is our ability to go back to the basics.  Packing a picnic and spending the day at our neighborhood pool is one of our favorite summer activities.  And really what does it cost you?  Just a little time!  What are your special ways to help keep your family happy?  I would love to hear them!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Farm Rich blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.