Category: happiness

children, gratitude, happiness, kids, mommyhood

Frosted Cupcakes (Almost)

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Today is an exciting celebratory and busy, busy day. It is Mad Dog’s and my sixth anniversary and we are celebrating T.Puzzle’s third birthday. His birthday is technically the day after our anniversary but we need to take advantage of his aunt and cousins being here. When I went in to get him up this morning I said, “Who is celebrating their birthday today?”

T.Puzzle replied, “Thomas!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he isn’t in fact, a tank engine.

I would write more but my guilt of being a Mom of a kid with a food allergy is not affording me any extra time. T.Puzzle is allergic to eggs so I have spent my morning making dozens of eggless cupcakes (I want him to have a bunch to take to school tomorrow on his actual birthday). They still needed to be frosted and sprinkled and frankly, I don’t want to spend the remainder of my sister’s visit attached to the computer or stuck in the kitchen. I also need to put my sister to work. Hope she’s a good cupcake froster!

children, gratitude, happiness, mommyhood, Uncategorized

Christmas Wishes

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Mad Dog’s car is finally fixed. It was a bum battery. It was a lengthy process but eventually he has a new battery free of charge because of his vehicle’s warranty. I’m so glad it was the battery and not operator error. I never would have lived it down if I had in any way caused harm to his beloved convertible.

While Mad Dog was tackling the car problem, I took Skee, my nieces, Soccer Girl and Sparkle, along with Baby D to the spa for some mani/pedis. The girls were so, so cute and Baby D was surprisingly cooperative. He sat on Skee’s lap while she had her pedicure and was an angel. I’m glad it was such a success and that the girls seemed happy with their freshly painted nails.

To cap off the day, when we picked up the boys from school, we headed to the same studio where we had our recent family portrait sitting. There was a Christmas special where Santa comes and has a personal visit with your family for pictures and stuff. Up to this point, Baby D has been very attached to Skee and cries whenever I hold him (he has since warmed up to me considerably). However, when Santa came, Baby D sat in awe and smiled like a champ. He was completely mesmerized by the man in the red suit. It was the cutest thing and yet, it hurt my ego just a tad. He won’t let his dear old aunt hold him but a stranger with a pot-belly and white beard is perfectly acceptable. Oh, well.

When it was Full Speed’s turn to tell Santa his Christmas wishes it went something like this: guns and swords. You know, peace on earth and all that.

I am having a wonderful time with my sister and her family. Seems like Santa already cared for my wish.

happiness, marital blissishness

Good Company

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We had a spur of the moment date night. Our babysitter learned her work schedule and realized she had some availability last night. I learned this at about 5:30pm. I had taken the boys to the park and was on my way home to make them dinner. It still amazes me that phrases like ‘don’t sit on that boy’s head’ or ‘stop tackling your brother on top of the slide’ are used with regularity. When will I say simple phrases like, ‘no’ or ‘time to go’ without a hint of a threat behind it? Never? Don’t answer; I need some denial to survive their boyhoods.

My day had been hectic. I was grateful both boys were at school as I prepared my home for our upcoming holiday guests. I was in high gear and stressed out. I knew once we all returned from the park I’d have laundry to organize and a list of other chores I wanted done before we left on our date. Through the chaos, I got almost everything done although at great personal sacrifice to my outward appearance. Let’s just say a t-shirt, stretchy black pants, minimalist make-up (a fancy way to say lip gloss only) and a pony-tail completed my high fashion ensemble. I didn’t care; I was going on a date!!

Mad Dog was a champ. He sat through a very long and in my opinion, very good New Moon. It was broody, forlorn and moved mostly at a snail’s pace (thank goodness for a couple action sequences with werewolves for poor Mad Dog’s sake). Mad Dog had even let the boys pick out an Edward doll for me at Target (that’s who they are posing with at breakfast) a couple days prior to show his support for my mild Twilight obsession (I say mild because it’s nothing compared to my SATC obsession).

As we sat in the darkened theater I realized marriage is a lot like going to the movies. Sometimes you both agree on what movie to see and sometimes you have to let your partner decide. It’s just nice to have company no matter what you choose.

children, gratitude, happiness, marital blissishness

Welcome Back!

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p9243341Grandma and Grandpa joined us for some Buckeye football. Well, it was more like Grandpa came for the football and Grandma came to spend time with the boys (I don’t blame her one bit!).

They brought chili in a crock-pot that Grandpa had made (spicy and good) and I willingly attempted to watch the game (I think I lasted a solid five minutes of actual game time) with Grandpa and Mad Dog.

The boys were invited to play with their cousin at a nearby park. Grandma jumped at the chance to escape football and enjoy the gorgeous day. This quickly evolved into an invite for them to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa’s.

This is the Holy Grail of parenthood; willing Grandparents who offer to take your children OVERNIGHT and who seem to genuinely enjoy the company of your children. I suppose in small doses, Full Speed and T.Puzzle are quite charming and endearing. Of course with this charm and endearment comes equal parts impulsivity and hyperactivity (like T.Puzzle biting a little girl at Grandma and Grandpa’s church day care; in a church of all things, where were the boy’s scruples??!!!).

Mad Dog and I were in heaven. I drank wine; Mad Dog ran to Publix and got me some cake (it’s vanilla and is essentially a glorified Twinkie) and some Haagen Dazs ice cream. We had an ‘Entourage’ marathon upstairs in the loft and slept in really, really late the next morning. This was all followed by Mad Dog making breakfast (he does a pretty mean scrambled egg) complemented with mimosas. After the breakfast dishes were cleared and cleaned (by Mad Dog, he deserves the recognition), we took the remainder of our mimosas, sat out on the lanai and read in peaceful silence.

I had forgotten that such a thing as peaceful silence exists. I suppose you have to lose something to truly recognize its absence and appreciate its return. Welcome back peace and quiet, oh, how we’ve missed you!

gratitude, happiness, parenting, self-discovery

Full Hands, Full Heart

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It’s that time of the year again. It’s picture day for my guys. It is becoming tradition that around the first of November, I book a sitting to document another year passed. I figure early November is a good point as it’s a couple weeks after Full Speed’s birthday and a few weeks before T.Puzzle’s. This also gives us ample time to order extra photos for holiday gifts. Mad Dog surprised me and was game to make it a family photo op as well. He made a good point that both our boys had new glasses and it would be nice to commemorate that. Full Speed’s changed because of surgery and T.Puzzle’s changed because he could finally read letters and be tested accurately (turns out he was farsighted even though under anesthesia he measured nearsighted; that’s another blog for another day).

I made an appointment at the hair salon to get my hair washed and blown out for early in the morning. Why does it look so much better to have a professional do something as simple as blow dry your hair? That means I had to have everything laid out for Mad Dog to get the boys ready for pictures. He was even going to shower them. They needed it (especially T.Puzzle!).

For any Moms out there who have ever coordinated a family portrait, enormous planning goes into it. To have everyone matching but not too matchy, and clean, pressed and smiling is nothing short of miraculous.

Overall, the boys had their smiling moments and their not-so-smiling moments. They hugged, they fought, they fell over in a big, wrestly heap. Inevitably the woman who was assisting the photographer turns to me and says, “You certainly have your hands full, don’t you?” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this exact sentence from the public at large I would be a gazillionaire. For years this has aggravated me to the depths of my soul. Why? That’s because it’s like stating the obvious. It’s like saying the sky is up and no matter how hard you try, my dear, you will never be Sarah Jessica Parker (I know, I know, I don’t even own a pair of Manolos or Jimmy Choos).

I’m changing my tune. My new response? A deep breath, a pause and this thought: full hands means a full heart.

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