Mother's Day

Mother's Day is tricky for me. I feel a lot of guilt. I should make it more about the wonderful mothers in my life and the lives of my girls. I should be sad for those close to me who want to celebrate this day for themselves and can't. I should, I should, I should.

Today, I made it about me. Rather, my little family made it about me.

 Brian gave me the best gift - seriously so thoughtful and awesome! - but I can't post it here or husbands everywhere would be in trouble.  Then I got to go to church with my family. My girls had the CUTEST matching dresses, thanks to Aunt Jenifer, and we had friends over for dinner. The whole day was just lovely. 

I hope yours was, too.

This is the card Zoey brought home from school for me. I laughed (see the first two) and then I bawled (see the last one). It just made me feel, for a moment, that maybe I am doing SOMETHING that matters. That was a great gift.

I just wanted one nice picture. JUST ONE. We took 21 pictures. Zoey poses for EVERY picture now and Kaia squints for EVERY picture now. It makes for awesome pictures. Totally awesome.

One of the good guys...

I was sitting across the pew from this guy - see above picture - at church on Sunday, and had a startling realization: we had become one of those families.  You know the kind I am talking about. Snot-nosed kids (we literally went through three packages of tissues), "quiet activities" strewn across the bench and most of the floor, in and out of the service at least three times for the potty, drinking fountain, and simply so the poor (quiet) family in front of us could pay attention.  This guy and I were sitting so far apart, separated by so much.  Then another startling realization: this is totally our lives right now.  It is all about those snot-nosed beautiful, smart, healthy daughters of ours.  I felt the sadness creeping in.  I felt my eyes start to water. It made me miss him. I wanted to send the girls to another pew and scootch in right next to him and feel him right next to me.  But I didn't. Instead, I watched him in awe as he juggled both girls at the same time, helping the eldest draw a picture and the littlest eat some goldfish. Then the tears did come, but they were tears of gratitude. How did he learn to be such a good father? How did I get so lucky to have someone like him in my life as my partner and best friend?  Does he know how much I love him? Gosh, I hope so.

all good things must come to an end...

She didn't want to go home, either:

Some thoughts on vacation:

1. Just because you are wearing a sexy little bathing suit, does not mean you are sexy and/or little.
2. Visiting family is not a vacation (no matter how much you love them and they love you).
3. Sunscreen - lots and lots of sunscreen.
4. Don't feel guilty about eating lots of yummy things - unless, of course, you think sand is yummy, which may result in some discomfort later.
5. A picture is worth a thousand words.
   
   

   

Thank you, Brian, for the best trip ever.

even more outer banks...

Today we got up-close and personal with these beauties:

The smaller dolphin is a tiny baby born just this year.

more outer banks...

We're doing a lot of lounging

and a lot of playing,

including Zoey's new trick:

outer banks welcome...

This is the view from our balcony:

Let the vacation begin!

A few evenings ago Brian brought me this to complete:

My initial thought was, "I am so tired and I just want to sit here and watch television. I do not want to complete a crossword puzzle."

Here is the completed puzzle:



All the clues have to do with North Carolina, where Brian is taking me on a surprise(!) trip to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday. Best part? He's been planning this for months, I didn't have a clue, and I didn't have to make any decisions about the trip. Other best part? He remembered me telling him years ago that I would like to go to Outer Banks "someday" and, now, he is making that happen. BEST. HUSBAND. EVER.

If you had known that...

I would insist on color-coding and labeling everything,

I would be cranky on a weekly (or daily) basis,

our hanging clothes must face the same direction,

there is a correct way to fold laundry,

I am a horrible cook,

I don't like to grocery shop alone,

it would take us 6 years to have a baby,

my sisters' phone calls could interrupt anything (yes, even that),

would you still have married me?

Happy 8th anniversary, my love.

i love my daddy because...

... he makes his hair spikey, which I love to look at.

... he always changes my diapers without complaining.

... he likes to play with me during tummy time.

... he wants me in his life even though it means less sleep.

... he bounces me to sleep, even when I scream at him.

... he swaddles me for bed every night.

... he works so hard so that mommy and I can hang out together all day.

Why do you love your daddy?