3 Years Ago...

our sweet, sweet Abby Grace came into our lives.






Today, she is 3 going on 12. She's beautiful, smart, funny, loving, sassy, adventurous, joyful, and full of energy.





She thinks her birthday was this past Saturday because that's when we had her party. It was hard to explain that her birthday was actually on a different day because she was SO, SO EXCITED THAT IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY AND ALL OF HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY WERE COMING TO CELEBRATE AND GIVE HER LOTS OF PRESENTS! AND THEN THERE WAS GOING TO BE CAKE - A PRINCESS CAKE! AND WE WERE GOING TO EAT THAT CAKE AND THEN OPEN THE PRESENTS! DID WE FORGET TO MENTION THE PRESENTS AND THE CAKE???

We decided to just go with it and let her turn 3 a few days early. Today is her actual birthday though, and I couldn't let it go without acknowledging what a blessing she is to me and our family.

We didn't have any cake today, but I think she enjoyed her Mickey ice cream bar at MGM Studios...



Happy Birthday, sweet princess.

I Sense A Record Deal In Her Future.

We had us some church in the car on the way to Epcot this past Sunday.

A Challenge!

80 words

speed/'>http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com">Speed test

Can you do better than this?? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Easter Eggstravaganza!

Because I Love Me Some Irony

I've known for a long time that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom when I had kids. It all began with my own mother. For many, many years she stayed home with us and that really made a difference in my life. I mean, really, how could I not vividly remember all the pampering that was showered upon my brother and me. We lived the good life during those elementary school years. Austin and I still reminisce about how she gently woke us in the morning and carried us out to the couch where she would tuck us into yet another blanket so we could watch cartoons. She would rub our feet to wake us up while we decided what we wanted for breakfast and then she would bring our breakfast out to the couch. Our clothes were neatly laid out so we could get dressed at our leisure.

I'm not kidding or exaggerating at all - this really happened.

Sick days were even better. We were settled into our parent's bed with a paper cup of Pepsi to ease our sick tummies. We watched game shows and soap operas all day while our mama did everything she could to make us as comfortable as possible.

Still...not kidding or exaggerating.

Her job was to take care of us. She was there when we got home from school. She was the perfect hostess to any birthday party. She was game for slumber parties and pool parties. She took us to dance competitions and soccer tournaments. She was there. She was present. She was constant.

I loved it.

Who wouldn't?

I decided I wanted to be a counselor when I was in high school after being inspired by a former teacher (and current exceptional friend). When it was time to specialize in a counseling field for my Master's Degree, I ultimately chose school counseling. I reasoned that I would still be in the field that I loved, but I would have the flexibility to be with my future children as much as possible. I would have the same schedule as my school-age children and those children were going to be my priority. If I was going to work outside the home then at least I would be working the same hours that my children were in school.

Thankfully, Matt and I were on the same page about me staying home with the kids until they go to kindergarten. We planned well, saved even better, and have always made choices (financially) that reflect this priority for us.

It doesn't hurt that my sugar-daddy of a husband totally provides for us. Thanks, honey.

I have now been home with our children for over 4 years and these are years that I will always cherish and know that I spent well. It is not easy, it's not always fun, and I'm not even close to being a perfect mom. But, I'm doing the best I can, and so far these little people are turning out pretty well.

And, I've got to tell you, I really like staying home with them. I don't miss work. When the kids are older and I go back to work, Matt plans to use my salary to save for retirement. I keep trying to tell him that I'm already retired, but he doesn't really think that is funny.

CPA's have an odd sense of humor.

Right after Abby was born, my brother came over for dinner and game night. He was wearing a shirt that simply said, "Unemployed." Ummm....hello? When he bought that for himself way out in California did he not think it appropriate to buy one for his unemployed sister?

I'll save you the suspense...he didn't.

So, I did what any reasonable person would do. I forced him to take off the shirt and give it to me. I sent him home in one of my old t-shirts. That "unemployed" shirt now belongs to me and Austin really didn't have a say in the whole matter.

He probably knew better than to argue with a sleep-deprived woman.

I LOVE wearing that shirt. When the kids were still babies, I would put that shirt on and push the unwieldy double stroller around the mall while I got all kinds of funny looks from people. And, boy did they ever give me funny (or disapproving) looks. But, I think it's hilarious and you could never convince me otherwise.

I still enjoy wearing the "unemployed" shirt as much as possible. Clearly, I have a job. A very important job. The most important job I'll ever have.

But, I'm still loving my years of unemployment. I may as well let the world know as such...

They May Be Wearing Green...But, If You Still Want To Pinch Them, I'll Completely Understand.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

20%

I kinda feel like my kids have had more than their fair share of illness. We have braved pneumonia, RSV, severe dehydration requiring hospitalization, countless ear infections, respiratory infections, asthma, croup, stomach viruses, and plenty of common colds. Not to even mention the wide array of food allergies poor Drew has to deal with on a daily basis.

Good thing we have been vaccinated against all those BIG illnesses so we don't have to worry about that anymore.

What?

What did you say?

The chicken pox vaccine fails in 20% of children who receive the vaccination?

Oh, you didn't know that? Me either. And, you should have seen my jaw drop to the floor when the on-call pediatrician (ours is on vacation) told me that Abby has chicken pox.

Really?

The pox?

And, that's how you know that you've dealt with too much sickness. You start blowing off things like a growing rash that seems a little itchy and is accompanied by a mild fever.

Next thing you know - your kid has the pox.

And now I will present my defense for all who are judging me and thinking about taking away my mommy card:

Whenever Abby gets a cold/virus she gets a little rash on the back of her neck. Our pediatrician says it is just "normal" for her when she gets sick. So, Sunday afternoon she started with the fever and runny nose and the little rash on the back of her neck.

Her nose was clear and she was acting fine, so I sent her to preschool on Monday. I rationalized that she had probably caught this little cold from her preschool buddies in the first place.

She sneezed her little head off all day Tuesday (still clear) and the rash spread to the right side of her body. This did not keep us away from ballet class. Clearly, we are not easily deterred from our weekly activities.

We went to Disney on Wednesday and by the time we got home the rash had spread to the other side of her body and all over her back.

Finally, Matt had the good sense to insist that I take her to the doctor the next day. But, hello? She had preschool. The kid loves preschool and she seemed to be feeling fine. So, I sent her to school and made an appointment for the afternoon.

The doctor took one look at her and breezily said, "Oh, that just looks like chicken pox. The vaccine doesn't work in about 20% of kids so she'll just have a mild case. Get her some calamine lotion and she'll be fine."

So, that's what we did. I picked my jaw up off the floor and took Abby to the store. I told her we were going to get her some lotion and she asked me, "Can we get some pink lotion, mama?" Why, yes. Yes we can dear, sweet child with the pox. She was understandably thrilled. Because, what's a little chicken pox when you get to have pink lotion?

The rewards clearly justified the risk.

And, now Abby is totally getting her way all day today because I feel bad that she has had the pox and all week I've been acting like it's just a little cold.

Final count: two days of preschool, one day of dance class, one day at the Magic Kingdom, and one case of chicken freakin' pox exposed to way too many children.

I love demonstrating my stellar mommy skills.