February 24th, 7:10 pm

I have my kitchen window wide open. It is not cold. This is bliss. Perhaps Sawyer was right, last week when our back yard was invaded by 1,256 birds, those birds were bringing Spring. Please bless.

A Labor of Love

Matt-
This year for Valentine's Day I really wanted to do something that would let you know that I do notice and appreciate all the wonderful things that you do & are. I feel like I have a lot of making up to do for my pre-Proxac craziness lately. I would have punched me if I were you. But you didn't. You helped me figure out what was going on in my head & let me know that I am still a good person/wife/mom. And that it's okay to accept a little chemical help if you need it. I do. That much is clear. Life is good again. And I have you to thank for me coming to understand that. I love you more than I can ever show or say. I'm just excited that I have all eternity to try. I hope you love your personalized fortune cookies. I hope that each time you open one and read what it says, that you smile, that you remember some of the amazingly fun times we've had, or that you know how much I appreciate all the little things you do. That will make the mind-numbing tediousness of this project worth it. Some of the replacement fortunes included:
You put up with my blogging addiction.
You actively work on making our marriage better.
You bawled your eyes out during Benjamin Button.
You close the blinds for me in the morning.
I love NOT camping with you.
You watch gay crap like The Bachelor with me.
You love swimming like a freaking six year old.
You have a super sexy voice.
You put up with my love of high heels.
You make the greatest root beer floats ever.
You know when to put the Crackberry away.
I love pinching your legs with my toes.
You massage out my leg cramps in the middle of the night.
You leave cologne remnants in the kitchen in the morning. LOVE IT!
You take Sawyer to Chuck-E-Cheese on dates.
You don’t try to “fix” things when I just want to vent.
You want an old man car, not a sports car.
Thank you for being you. I love you an unquantifiable amount.
Celeste

Ice Skating

I've been wanting to take Sawyer ice skating lately. Once upon a time I was pretty much gonna go pro and then I broke my leg & never went back. DUMB. I suck. But after a lovely Charlie & Lola episode, Sawyer kept talking about ice skating & I figured I had a chance to live vicariously through my daughter & could force her into making up for my past mistakes & wussiness. Who doesn't want that? We started out optimistic. And soon melted into a pile of tears & frustration. Lovely. I'm so glad Matt was there. He told her that she had to go around with him at least 4 times before she could decide that she didn't like it. I have such a hard time knowing when to push & when to step back. I'm afraid she's a bit like me & too cautious & takes herself too seriously. She certainly is stubborn. That much is sure.

Thank You Doug & Shannon!

So getting a UPS/DHL/FedEx delivery is pretty much the MOST EXCITING thing to happen at our house.ever. Generally those things are a huge let down once they are opened because they more often than not contain some sort of golfing paraphernalia that Matt has purchased off of Bradsdeals.com or somewhere. But today? Today our package included the endless joy that is a coloring book, stickers & candy watches. Holy Crow! My sister-in-law Shannon is such a freaking doll! It couldn't have arrived on a better day either, I have this icky, vauge sickness that I really wish would decide to really be sick or not. My lymph nodes are visible from space & hurt really bad & they are sucking all my energy. Anyway, between a playdate with Megan & a Valentine's Day package from Doug & Shannon, it actually was a do-able day.

How I spent my Saturday night. (instead of planning my Young Womens lesson.)

How is it possible that I have never heard of these people before?

getting sick of looking at that video...

...but I couldn't think of anything noteworthy to write, so imagine my happiness when Kierstin tagged me! It's that "find the fourth folder in your pictures file, and post the fourth picture in that folder" thing. Anyway, here it is: my baby-babe on her first snowmobile-into-the-cabin-for-New-Years trip. She was fourteen months old and was so good on the ride in that I kinda freaked out & made everyone stop until I made sure she was okay. It was really late at night & really, really cold & she was sandwiched between Matt & I on the snowmobile & didn't make a peep. She's just a trooper. This picture is of her first Oreo experience, and her face is a hot mess behind that sippy cup. What a babe. She's just the funnest kid. Oh, that reminds me, another installement of "from the mouth of a total babe" happened today. I was making a batch of buttercream and she was playing with play-doh & we were listening to a mix cd Paisa left at our house. It was an Akon song & she asked "who is dis singing, Mom?"
"his name is Akon, baby."
"oh, I love Akon. What is his last name?" (didn't even know she was aware that there were first & last names.)
"I don't know. I think that his name is just Akon."
"oh, that is so sad."
I love that she feels bad for people who only have one name. Such a sweetie. I'm glad to see that she is properly developing empathy. Quite advanced, actually. :)
(yes, I am aware that this is probably a stage name, but I didn't want to explain pseudonoms to her at this time, sooo...)

Oh, and now I tag whoever wants to do this tag. You know the drill.