Didn't even need to make a wish

So, my birthday was awesome. So awesome, in fact, it's taken me a few days to wrap my head around actually posting about it.

Last year, if you'll remember, wasn't so hot. I was pretty pregnant, Lee had to work, Mary Bullock ingested Bengay, poison control, blah-d-blah.

Up until last Wednesday afternoon, I was bracing myself for another sad birthday. Lee was in trial in Tallahassee and was supposed to be gone until late Friday night. I had to resist the urge to stamp my foot about that one. Don't judges consider attorneys' wives' birthdays? Ugh.

But I didn't stamp my foot. I waved goodbye to him on Sunday night [ok, I might have pressed my face to the kitchen window and thought seriously about crying] and decided to have a great birthday no matter what. I even planned my own birthday breakfast.

And for this supreme and rare pulling up of my own big girl panties, I was rewarded handsomely. Lee surprised me Wednesday afternoon by calling me from our driveway [trial was done early]. He had re-booked our previously postponed overnight trip the beach, and surprise! he even gave me my birthday present early. And it was thoughtful. And pretty. And had nothing to do with running, cooking, ironing, or children.

And God Bless his parents, who kept the babies and are probably still recovering.

All of my birthday wishes had come true before I even got home to my cake on Sunday, which was probably better because MB helped blow out my candles and it took us several huffs and puffs.

Now I just need to figure out how to keep the glow of these Birthday Things alive till 34!

Did you know

So, you know that I'm a twin, right? If you know me or have been reading, this is old news. But did you know that I was also a surprise?

On this day, thirty-three years ago, my mother, nearly two weeks overdue with what she thought was her third baby, finally went into labor. She got to the hospital around 7, and forty-six minutes later, the girl that she'd hoped and prayed for was born.

That was my sister.

And then I popped out [maybe she wouldn't describe it as popped. Or maybe she would. She has the convenient tendency to only remember the good stuff. Which has worked out really well for her memory of my teenage years].

But I digress.

SURPRISE! I must have been thinking in my tiny baby head. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

Then she set about getting a second of every baby item she had [can you imagine?] before bringing us home from the hospital.

Later, I thanked her for all of this by acting like a total brat between the ages of 3-10. And then again between the ages of 15-18. I definitely had some bratty years in my twenties.

Even now when she doesn't answer the phone by my second time trying I have been known to get huffy. And how old am I?

Oh yes. Thirty-three.

So Happy Birthday, Sister! Thanks for sharing.

And Happy Twin Day to my mother. Thanks for rising to the challenge, and for always making me feel like you preferred it that way, even in my bratty years.

ABC Book

At this point, I should probably edit MB's ABC book to make P stand for PROCRASTINATE. First I procrastinated on finding the pictures [Q and I were hard for me, and I didn't want to pose any pictures just for the book.]. Then I procrastinated on getting prints made. And then, just when I was admitting to myself that this project might go the way of my wedding scrapbook, sad and neglected, I realized I could do the whole thing very handily on Shutterfly. And I realized I already had Q and I pictures-- I just had to search back through the blog to find them.  Within one nap time, it was done! [We won't talk about the laundry and dishes that certainly did not get done.]

And then I got it in the mail, did a little dance, and procrastinated on writing this post.

Better late than never?

It only took...18 months to complete. At this rate, I guess I better go ahead and get started on LDWIV's ABC book. He'll still need this when he's five, right?


[Edit: I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I got it from here-- so so long ago!]

Dear Kimmy,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I heart you.

Big Canoe + Big Congratulations

Ashley, one of my best friends from college, got married this past weekend in Big Canoe, GA. Although logistically challenging, we [Aunt Jen, Bobo, MB and I] managed to make it there and back in one [four?] piece[s]. It was great fun with best friends in a beautiful setting, and it was awesome to see the last of The Feet officially become an old married.

There were many favorite parts of the weekend, but I'll just tell you about my least favoritest and my most favoritest, just for brevity's sake.

My least favorite part of the weekend was that Rachel wasn't there.  She's 39 some odd weeks pregnant and couldn't make the trip, which was a bummer. She can always be counted on to remember the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to any of us, and then, after drinks, retell it very loudly.

Not that I've ever done anything embarrassing. 

Right?

My favorite part of the weekend was this part-- when we decided our last six feet rehearsal dinner poem was way too tame and and actually agreed to use the term in the buff in one verse. The in the buff part was a lie but it was so funny that we didn't really care.

And then Kim made the gesture

which I could not adequately capture on film because I was simultaneously slapping the table and trying to take a breath.

It was not appropriate for all audiences.

Just perfectly appropriate for a bunch of girls for whom the last 15 years kind of disappear when they're together. Seriously, if you could picture us all with a bit more in the eyebrow department, this is pretty much how we were. 


Plus imagine Julie in her ubiquitous argyle sweater.

You people make my heart SUPER happy.

Another person who makes my heart super happy: my twin sis, who left her own baby with her husband, flew to Jacksonville, drove 8.5 hours with me and the babies, and then got pooped and peed on for two days while I reenacted my late adolescence with the girls, then drove us all home. This is the same [my only] sister who flew down to help me paint the nursery last November when I had the big freak out. I owe her some major favors now!

Now to tackle the laundry and catch up on sleep! That might take me till next weekend. :)

MADE

Mary Bullock was slow getting to the doll baby game. Last year, when her friends all started toting their babies everywhere, MB was satisfied stripping all her babies' clothes off and throwing them naked into the corner of her room to be forgotten.

Lately, though, she's always got a few babies in her entourage. She calls them her durls [girls]. She is a tough little Mama, too. She gives them 'pankings and puts them in time out when they get out of hand. And forget toys at the breakfast table-- that is strictly verboten. But mostly she hugs and pats them and invites them to sit with her wherever she is sitting.

Some of her durls came with names, like 'Tewa [Stella]. Others she has named herself, and those are the ones I love the most.

First there was Shewa [Sheila, after one of her playschool teachers]. Sheila has been without clothing for months and months. But she takes lots of baths, so she's not a total baby of the dust.

Then there was Woowis [Lewis, after our sweet neighbor Mrs. Lewis who gave MB a slew of dolls and accessories outgrown from her grandchildren]. This might be my favorite, just because I love that MB remembered who gave her such a sweet gift.

But today-- today I MADE THE LIST.

Meet the newly dubbed MOMMY.
Are you sure you want to call her Mommy? I asked.
It's a good name, she said.

Can't argue with that! Mommy it is.
I wonder if she does dishes.

Dear Bobo,

Here are a few of the many things I love about you:
1. Your cheeks are cool and squishy.

2. You laugh so easily. It makes me feel like the funniest human being alive. [I mean, next to Sissy. Because she is clearly the humor winner in this household.]

3. You sit down with a toy and play and play and play. And when you've played so hard with your toy that it rolls away from you, you wait patiently for its replacement instead of squawking as another [nameless!] child in our household would have done.

4. You let me sleep until 5 this morning. I would have loved you for 4:30, but that extra thirty minutes really sealed the deal.

Kisses!
Mama