Happy Birthday, Birthday Things!

Today makes a whole year since I decided to start writing more about the things I love and less about the things I hate. The best part has been that it's super hard to write about the things that I love without constantly remembering that there are so many things about this life that I love.  There are things that I hate--of course. But wasting time worrying about them doesn't add a second more time or an ounce more quality to my life.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~Phillipians 4:8

Tuuuute!

This is what happens when I start in on my mom about organizing her sewing room, which typically looks like a bomb of fabric and ribbon has exploded only seconds before.

I start nagging her to pare down some of her goods, and before long we've spied some red gingham fabric that is screaming to be made into an apple applique and a matching skirt.

Two hours later, nothing has been organized or rearranged or thrown away, but Mary Bullock has a new back-to-school outfit. And the fabric bomb has moved to the dining room.

Which is all worth it when Mary Bullock puts it on in the morning and squeals TUUUUUTE, MAMA! and then APPLE! SHIRT!

A few more squeals like that, and there might be a fabric bomb in my house one of these days.

But don't mention this to Lee. I'm trying to break it to him slowly.

We clicked our heels three times and...

Well, I wish getting home had been that easy, but no. But here we are, nevertheless. I feel like we've been gone for a month instead of a week! The whole house feels different.

But maybe that's the several thousand dollars worth of emergency plumbing that went on while I was gone. It's hard to smile about disasters of this particular magnitude, but I will say: I took a very nice shower this morning.

So, anyway, we're back! We had a great trip. Mary Bullock, The Wiggles, and Mary Poppins were ideal traveling companions. We drove 25+ hours in the car all together, and only around an hour of that was unpleasant. Which, for a very active not-quite-two year old, is doing really well.

I can't fit the whole week into a single post, but there were many Birthday Things to celebrate, so here's a short pictorial recap [detailed posts to come].

I'm still learning to work the new camera, so excuse my blurries. I also got my very first non-Cabbage Patch sewing machine for my birthday, so I have a lot of studying to do in the next few months before Baby B comes and I temporarily forget how to read.

Happy Monday!

I learn something new every day

So, I started out my thirty-second year on Earth by learning a very important lesson, which was: Toddlers don't give two poops that it's your birthday.

I love MB to pieces, of course, but yesterday she made me feel every minute as old as I am. I probably sprouted a few gray hairs, too. Not that you'll ever see them.

On days like yesterday, every kick from Baby B compounds the fear of having two Wedekind babies to manage.  [And it must come from Lee's side, because I have it on good authority that I was a perfect. angel.]

But as you can see, it's way--WAY--too late for second thoughts, which I think is the way God intended it to be.

Then I woke up this morning to Little Miss Sunshine.

And I remembered why I breathe deeply and get through the rough days, even when the rough day is my birthday: because one kiss from this little smacker makes my insides melt.

And speaking of melting [butter, that is], my precious husband made the most amazing Bearnaise sauce last night to go with our steaks, and the photos have somehow been deleted. [I'm still learning the camera!] That went a long way toward easing my soul at the end of a hard day, too. If you love someone as much as Lee must love me [and God only knows why he does], you might want to give it a whirl.

Happy Weekend! MB and I will be checking in remotely from our [perhaps insane] roadtrip to North Carolina and Virginia next week, but if posts are rare, forgive us. We will be back eventually. [If I don't decide to start squatting in Rachel's house, never to return. Strong possibility. Lee would visit us, right?]

Birthday Things

So, since today is my birthday, here is today's list of Birthday Things. Yes, there is a whole list. I'm very blessed.

1. Mornings when Mary Bullock sleeps later than I do. [Like this morning! It's a Birthday MIRACLE!]
2. Mornings when Lee changes her first diaper, which is usually the worst of the day.
3. Free kisses from both of my Bubbas. I didn't even have to beg or use the boo boo on the lips trick!
4. Hearing my baby sing Hap-ba du du! Hap-ba du du! at the breakfast table, while dancing a little chair dance.

5. Special birthday breakfasts from the best husband ever.

6. An awesome new camera with which to document such a special breakfast. And the instruction manuals that I will be reading for the next 1,000 years.
7. The best sister to have shared the last 32 years with.
8. This girl

I would say that I love her more on mornings when I don't end up calling Poison Control, but the truth is, I love her just the same. And it makes me appreciate peaceful mornings even more.
9. Homemade tabbouleh by my sister-in-law. Forget Whiteway, Jacksonville people. This was a-mazing.
10. All of you. Thanks for the phone calls, emails, texts, and fb messages. If I don't get to talk to you today, you can just imagine me prying some insanely dangerous object out of Mary Bullock's hot little hands, and know I'll get back to you soon.

Happy Day, Friends!

Good News, Jen...

The tiger's still in the zoo!

Happy Birthday, Sister!
I bet I beat you to it this year.
We are officially old.

Can I make it up to you?

It has come to my attention that I may need to apologize to those of you whose delicate sensibilities I may have offended with the reference to my thighs yesterday. [Ahem. Lee.]

Today I thought I'd make it up to you by showing you a few of the recipes that have contributed to the onset of the [from now on] unmentionable thigh issue.

[Ignore the green beans. They were Steamables, and they were eh. Every now and then I just get the feeling that feeding Baby B straight carbs isn't doing anyone any favors.]

But anyway. The pasta to the right is Bowtie Lasagna. It's super tasty, and more importantly, super easy. [Plus, if you at the last minute figure out that the box of bowtie pasta in your pantry that you've been counting on for dinner is empty, you can move to Plan B, which is regular old spaghetti. This happened to me on my first attempt, so I know.]

Do yourself a favor and click the link. But if you're having a baby anytime soon, don't make it for yourself just yet. I'd prefer you to be surprised when I drop this little dish on your doorstep. I've already designated it as my new go-to baby meal.

Now for this afternoon's project...

Because summer's going to be over soon, and I've got a ton of Key Lime juice to use before it's not festive anymore, I'm going to go ahead and sacrifice more room in my pants for these little ditties. But I'm excluding the almonds, and [obvs!] including the key lime juice. Because I'm daring like that. And I hate juicing limes.

Is that sufficient? Have we made up now? I will never speak of my _ _ _ _ _ _ again. Unless all the sudden they get skinny. Then I will be shouting it to you and taking pictures of my thighs in tiny running shorts and you'll kind of wonder if I might not be just a little bit strange and full of myself.

But don't hold your breath.