The In-Laws

A "wise man" (aka.... my brother Matt....hahaha) once said....something along these lines, 'To have two people join together in a marriage is always special. To have both those people come from two incredible families builds an even better foundation.' He said these words at Derek and I's wedding reception when he gave a toast to us. He was saying how lucky we were to have both come from such strong, committed families. And he was so right.

I love my in-laws. Susan and Scott are amazing, generous, down-to-earth people. I actually get excited when my in-laws come to visit. I went to work this weekend, so tired on Friday night. I had been up since 6am that morning and I knew I would not sleep again until 8am the next morning. When everyone asked why I was so tired, I said,

"My in-laws are in town."

(they reply) "OH... gotch ya. That's too bad."

(I reply) "Actually, no, it's a good thing. I wish I could be there now."

(they say) "Really? Cause I'd be happy to work all weekend if it were my in-laws."

(Me) "Nope, not with mine."

And it's true. Thank you, so much, Nana and Grampy for all you do. Derek and I now have a freshly painted bedroom. Good bye, dark and dreary blue..... HELLO WHITE! It looks awesome, thank you!

(the colors look excellent with this blanket. I LOVE handmade presents - Derek's Aunt Theresa made this for us when we were married.)

And somebody loved her clothes. She's kinda hard to dress right now. Difficult to get her to hold still to get dressed, and even harder to find something that actually fits this tall, skinny girl.

(now going wherever she wants.... shut doors mean nothing - except that they need opening)

Grampy, I hope you learned a few things from Miss Bianca. Here's a look at her showing Grampy how she thinks things should be done...

and I thought I needed an iPad

tell your company she's ready to give you the pink slip.

And Nana, she loves ya. All day Monday all I heard was "Nana." I thought she was telling me she wanted a banana. So, I'd go get her a banana and say, "Here, Bianca, a banana." Nope, not what she wanted. She wanted you - Her Nana.

So as Derek and I sit and reflect on what a nice weekend it was, we realize how lucky we are to have you as parents. Thanks again for everything. We miss you already and wish we could be together more. We can't wait for vacation this May. We are practically counting the days until beach time comes. It will be so fun to be together and watch Bianca play in the sand.

Hurry back for a visit soon, we miss you!

Pay it Forward

I gotta do it.

Grab a box of Kleenex. Check out this video. Just a few days left to donate. It's from one of my most favorite blog writers.

Donate here

I read every one of her blog posts. This one is my favorite

Make sure you turn down the music first. Enjoy and pay it forward if you do!

Sweet Tooth

Sometimes a girl'z just gotta have it.

Chocolate. Sweets. Sugar.

yum, yum

I realize it's probably not the healthiest night night treat to give my daughter. It's not an every night thing. And she brushed her teeth after having it....er....I mean them.

(multi-tasking during sugar craze is very impressive)

(for those of you who don't believe in the 5-second rule, then don't look)

(It's blurry cause I was laughing so hard - and she was moving so fast. You only have 5 seconds, ya know)

anything for this smile

I'll probably get what I deserve - a baby up all night from a cookie-induced sugar high immediately before bed.

Oh, well. At least it will be "sweet" dreams in the meantime!

Bath Time

Bianca loves her baths. She especially likes them when she has new toys. I got some fun bath time sponges from One Step Ahead.

HAPPY TUESDAY! We are excited for our visitors this weekend - Nana and Grampy!

I've been stuck inside my house since Sunday. Atlanta has seen the most snow - now ice - it has ever seen. This is bad, folks.

What was once snow has turned to ice. We have inches of ice covering roads. Interstates are still shut down. No mail has come for days. Of course, that doesn't really matter.... cause it's too icy to even walk to the mailbox! If you are lucky enough to be able to get your car out of your driveway, you don't get too far. I thought today I would attempt to go to the grocery store. I have a BIG vehicle, front wheel drive - and I'm a Midwest girl. Come on! I can do this. I was ready to attempt until I had this in my way:

Yeah. My neighbor thought she could get her rear-wheel drive Lexus out of her garage. She did, but then proceeded to slide down the hill to where my driveway is. So now, I'm definitely blocked in by ice AND my neighbor's car.

So, I've been "chipping" through sections of ice outside of the house so that when the time comes I can attempt to leave, I don't get stuck on ice. I am the only one on my block with a shovel. I just leave it out and my other neighbors come borrow it when I'm not using it.

None of my neighbors have gone to work this week. Another neighbor was supposed to fly home here on Monday. Still not here. They say the ice is staying until it gets warmer .... SATURDAY.

SOOOOOO.... what do you do when you can't leave your house for 5 days???

You play indoor basketball

You pretend you are at the grocery store

You do a lot of painting

(momma's painting)

(b's painting)

man.... I thought i dreading painting.....

you bake.... and subsequentially eat..... A LOT.

you enjoy some tea in the cutest glasses ever (thank you, Santa. Anthro)

you clean EVERYTHING (even the ceiling lights)

and you pray. and read. and dance. Bianca and I have had several dance parties. She dances so funny - up on her toes and back down. Up on the toes, back down. She's practicing her Ballet Pointe, I'm sure.

So, one of my neighbors is having me over for fajitas later tonight. I'm gonna try to walk over there without breaking an ankle. Poor B. She keeps saying, "Bye Bye. Bye Bye." I wish.

Snowed In

Well, this is a first for me in Atlanta. Snowed In. Yep, stuck at home. The snowfall today was the most snow Atlanta has seen in decades - combined! It is for sure the most peculiar weather I have seen in a long time. We got almost 5 inches where I live - unheard of here. 5 inches was really nothing back in Illinois. But here - there are hardly any snow plows, no salt, and very minimal resources to get rid of this white stuff. The snow itself is also different. The first inch (on the top) is slippery and .... crisp...??? Let me put it this way - when you step onto the snow, it feels like you might not break through the top but then it gives like a stale cookie and you sink down to the ground. Underneath is the "normal" powdery stuff I'm used to.

I couldn't wait to get Bianca out in the snow. Growing up in the Midwest, some of my fondest memories are of the snowy weather. I remember getting all bundled up in snow pants and going out to sled or be pulled by my brothers on the 4-wheeler. We'd come in after hours of playing to warm coco and a warm fire. My fingers would thaw and tingle... I just loved it.

So, when I took B out to play in it today, I expected nothing less. Well, no pond to ice skate on and no 4-wheeler to ride. Heck, I didn't even have snow pants for the little girl. I mean... it's not supposed to snow in Atlanta. But I did the best I could. I put her in a onesie, warm & snuggly footsie pjs, lined jeans, a sweater, a coat, hat, boots, socks, and gloves. While layering her, she kept crying, "HOT. Mama HOT. HOT HOT HOT!!!" It was so cute. I just wanted to make sure she was warm enough.

But just because I was so enthused about this baby/snow meeting, doesn't mean Bianca was. She hated it. The snow scared her to death. It was SO LOUD when you walked through it, she was crying because she was scared. Then, to try to get her to touch it was a nightmare. I had to "break through" that hard outer layer to get to the soft stuff.... and she really wasn't into it. She preferred to just sit and "chill" in her wagon.

My neighbors and I build a snowman while Bianca supervised the situation.

Tonight Auburn is playing for the Championship, so we went with the orange/blue theme.

I'm just glad B's car is front-wheel drive so she didn't get stuck.

And nothing goes better on a cold day than a peanut butter sandwich, her new fave.

The girls came over after snowman building because NOBODY could go to work in this snow mess. We had to have some hot chocolate to get over all the snow. Oh yeah.... and some wine.

DID I TELL YOU THE NEWS???

I got a new best friend!!!!!!

I just love the vintage look and the pistachio green color. It's amazing. I can't believe it took me this long to find it. Thanks so much, Mel, for your help!

It's heaven. I made some "garbage cookies" for the girls. They weren't really garbage - but I "dumped" a bunch of ingredients I had lingering into the batter. Random recipe I made up today including banana pudding, chocolate and butterscotch morsels, whole wheat flour, and a little butter. They were Yummy.... if I do say so myself.

And a few more looks at the snow-filled day. Which will turn into a snow-filled week because it's not supposed to warm up until Saturday. I really don't know what I'll do if we're not able to get out tomorrow. But the roads are just sheets of ice, and it's inches deep.

Friends

I'm typing this and they are downstairs.

It's kinda weird to me to realize....

We have stayed in the same house before. We've lived together before. I remember meeting Amber my freshman year in the dorm. She lived across the hallway from me. I remember thinking, 'yeah, some Chicago girl.... she's not like me.'

Then I saw her at the same house I was at on the final night of rush. I thought, 'what's she doing here?...'

I moved in with her, across the hall, several weeks later once her roommate moved out. I lived with her again the next year. And my senior year. We were inseparable.

And then came Melinda. I met her my freshman year, but didn't really get to know her until we lived together sophomore year in the sorority house. Her room in the house was HOT. I mean.... inferno. I remember stopping by to see her and it was burning up. But golly - her closet was on fire, too - Mel had the best clothes and accessories to borrow. I lived with her again senior year.

What do I remember about these people? Amber: nice. People voted her to be President of our sorority her junior year but she declined (so she could live in an apartment with me and Mel). Everyone loved her. She was liked by all. Fun, driven, responsible. Melinda: dependable. She would be by your side no matter what. You could count on her to meet you anywhere, anytime. Got your back - no matter WHAT the circumstance

Time becomes blurrier after a while. You forget things. You forget how things went, or how the story really was told. But I do remember weekends. I remember football games. I remember lake house times. I remember laying on the couches and watching movies all afternoon. I remember pizzas and beer. I remember laughing and crying. I remember dancing and running. I remember parties and studying. But most of all.... I remember us.

I have stories that go on forever. It started the first day of college with Amber living across the hall. Continue through Mel visiting me in Wisconsin, both of them attending my brother's wedding, me going back to college again, being there when I dealt with losing family members, boyfriends and breakups, meeting the loves of our lives (yes, Mel, I take credit for Craig, still), and now - having babies.

It hasn't been a pretty road. We've had breakups, ourselves.

But now, I look at us. I look at Amber holding my baby. I look at Mel carrying her baby. I am at peace.

I am in love. With friends.

They say if you go through life and meet 1 good friend .... you are blessed.

My friends..... I am blessed (x 2).

(circa 2004)

(i am SOOOO mad. i took my camera out with us, but the memory card was not in it. i couldn't be more upset with myself. but i have pictures in my memory from this weekend)

Thanks, girls. The visit was awesome. Let's not wait another 3 years to do that again.