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And if you think this:





ever gets old, you'd be wrong. In both cases he's laughing at Abby. She can make him laugh like no other - without even barely trying.

Cue Billy Joel lyrics:

This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever
These are the days
To hold on to
Cause we won't
Although we'll want to
This is the time
But time is gonna change

Five Little Monkeys

If you think this scene (that took place while I was getting ready for the day) made me get a little warm and fuzzy, you'd be right.

Pretending

A lot of times I feel as though I'm just playing house. As though I'm not actually the one who OWNS a house and has a husband with 2 children.

But...

when I'm scrubbing partially digested spaghetti and meat sauce vomit from rugs and her clothes and my clothes...

it doesn't really feel like pretending anymore.

100 List for Abby

In light of Abby's birthday J-L and I thought of some things we want for her/want to teach her.

Note: I haven't figured out all of these myself yet, I'm still working on some of them.
Note 2: And no, this is not an exhaustive list.

1. Be kind
2. Be okay with who you are
3. But be willing to take advice
4. Vote
5. Don’t become too obsessed with clothing
6. But, buy yourself something luxurious once in awhile
7. Respect other people
8. Respect yourself too
9. And furniture
10. And other people’s houses
11. And the environment
12. Get yourself some good friends
13. Fall in love at least once
14. Find a job that you love to do even if it doesn’t make you rich
15. Live alone at least once
16. Don’t rush into getting older
17. But, once you are older, be okay with it
18. Always let the elderly get on or off the elevator before you
19. Even if you don’t like the way they smell
20. Or if they don’t say "thank you"
21. Always say "thank you" when someone does something for you
22. Buy yourself a set of screwdrivers and a hammer
23. And build something. Anything. It will make you feel empowered.
24. Learn how to sew.
25. Take care of your teeth
26. Know that you can carry your luggage yourself
27. But, be okay if someone else offers to help you.
28. Believe in yourself
29. Don’t take up smoking
30. If you’ve done something wrong, apologize
31. Don’t apologize for things you didn’t do wrong
32. Don’t weigh yourself too often
33. Learn how to say "no" and mean it
34. Learn how to budget your money
35. Learn how to cook.
36. Learn how to swim.
37. Learn how to change a tire
38. Try to enjoy school. You’ll be at it for quite a long time, it’d be a pity to hate it.
39. Be okay with doing stuff behind the scenes and not receiving credit. Do it anyway.
40. Be generous. To your family, to your friends, to those less fortunate and to your God.
41. Smile
42. Question everything. Over and over and over again. Don’t take things at face value but work it out in your own mind.
43. Don’t let someone else do your thinking for you. Not your prime minister, not your boss, not your pastor, not your girlfriends, not your husband. No one.
44. Don’t buy things on credit.
45. Travel.
46. Be sassy sometimes
47. Be quiet sometimes
48. Be responsible
49. Know that God loves you
50. Love Him back
51. Find some positive female role models (even if it’s not your mom).
52. Find some positive male role models (even if it’s not your dad).
53. Be thankful
54. Tip
55. Don’t tell lies
56. To yourself or to other people
57. Don’t wear pantyhose more often than you absolutely need to.
58. Sometimes it’s okay to spend the evening crying
59. Sometimes it’s okay to spend the evening sitting on the couch eating popcorn and drinking iced tea.
60. But, sometimes you’re just going to have to get up and get to work even though you might not want to.
61. Be good to your brother. No matter who your friends are he will always be the one that has known you the longest and when you need to whine about your parents he’s the only one that will get it.
62. Learn how to speak in front of a crowd
63. Have fun
64. Look for the best in other people
65. Stuff can be replaced
66. Never stop doing something new
67. Don’t put photos on the internet or words in an email that you wouldn’t want forwarded to your mother or your boss.
68. Know grace
69. Say "I love you" to those you love and mean it.
70. Never forget where you came from
71. Learn another language besides English
72. Never stop learning about yourself
73. Know how to be a servant
74. Sometimes it’s going to seem that something your parents have done or said will end your world completely. It probably won’t.
75. Be truthful
76. Count your blessings
77. Don’t be a wallflower.
78. Or a doormat.
79. Compliment someone when they do a good thing.
80. Don’t take yourself too seriously
81. Don’t owe money to your friends
82. Pray
83. Be at work on time.
84. Throw yourself into things, wholeheartedly and passionately. That way, if things don’t work out, then at least you know it wasn’t for lack of effort on your behalf.
85. Remember that what you want isn’t always what you need.
86. Be careful how much time you spend talking about yourself.
87. Hope. Always hope.
88. Take a lesson from your grandfather: Learn how to speak with everyone with equal candor and kindness whether it be the cleaning lady or the university professor.
89. And one from your Auntie Sue: If you think something nice about someone, tell them.
90. Be okay with silence.
91. Be open-minded but don’t be swayed by every new idea.
92. Save some money.
93. Try, try, try again. Keep fighting and keep trying. But, sometimes, cut your losses and walk away.
94. Don’t blame your parents for everything.
95. Know how to spend time alone – at a movie, out for dinner or on a trip.
96. Know how to do your own taxes.
97. Don’t hold a grudge but remain wary.
98. Be happy.
99. Remember that no matter how it might seem at times, your parents love you more than you could ever know.
100. And for heaven’s sake, call your mother!

November 4th

About this time three years ago I was thanking God that they were about to turn the epidural back on.

Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet girl.

Words from her mouth

"Mom, let's go downstairs. I'm hungry* like crazy."

(I toyed with signing up for NaBloMowhatever but that feels like too much commitment. Although, I think I could like do a post per day of Wfhm.)

* And yes, it IS because the Halloween candy is downstairs.

Gardening

It is currently 18 degrees out there. I KNEW that at some point in my life my procrastinating habits would serve me well. What a lovely day to clean out the gardens.

And no, in case you were wondering, the irony is not lost on me that the plants that did the best were the carrots that grew in the flower garden due to a certain little girl's "help" with planting last spring.

She

The day was busy. A quick breakfast and then off for grocery shopping and various other running around. A rushed lunch, a kiss and a good-bye for the day. The remainder of the day apart. Me, at the church prepping for the costume party and her hanging out with her dad. Yes, we saw each other at the costume party but as I was running one of the games there wasn’t much time for togetherness. Following the costume party it was time for mad clean-up and then she headed home while I went out for a late night supper with the other leaders. I get home and she is still awake. In bed, but still awake. I crawl under the covers with her for a momentary cuddle. The last few moments of attempting to sleep have softened her typical rambunctious personality. She doesn’t immediately climb on me or want to play or jump on the bed. Instead she lays beside me and ever so sweetly turns to me and quietly says "So, how was your day?" in her tiny 3 year-old voice. And I think to myself, "well, honey, this was the best part."

That’s it. Right there. That’s what I waited for. All those years, just that. A little girl who would care about me just as much as I care about her.