Whining isn't pretty

I really should learn to stop whining. I wrote the last post on the morning of my birthday, and I didn't think I had a lot to look forward to. Except that I DID! Only the best birthday ever!!! Practically every year since I've been married, Mac manages to surprise me with something, and this year on my 30th birthday, Mac surprised me bigtime!

First of all, the day of my birthday wasn't half bad. My grandma surprised me with a birthday cake before I left town (and yes, my grandpa was able to fix the disposal). And on the drive home, all three of my girls were amazingly good. Even Lilly slept and didn't fuss once. What a great birthday gift!

So the surprises didn't start happening until Saturday, June 20th. Let me first explain that I asked Mac NOT to get me anything this year for my birthday because of a trip we decided to take to San Diego last minute, and Mac agreed. So imagine my surprise when, upon waking up, Mac told me that he was taking me (and the kids) to IHOP. I LOVE eating breakfast, so I was really happy to hear this. And IHOP was great. When we came home, Mac gave me a card. When I read it, there were some nice things said about me, and then another surprise - a manicure and pedicure had been scheduled for me at a local spa! So I quickly jumped in the shower, got dressed, and rushed off to my appointment. I didn't even have time to do my make-up. No big deal, I'll just do it when I get back, or so I thought. When I was finished at the spa (I'm still sporting lovely dark pink toes!), the lady at the check out handed me ANOTHER card! I opened it and read some more nice things and discovered that - SURPRISE! - I had an appointment to get my hair styled! Mac had conveniently programmed the address into our GPS, so I followed the directions (except when they told me to turn the wrong way down one-way streets) and found the place. It turns out Mac's assistant at work. Alese, does hair on the weekends, so it was fun to chat with her while she used a flat iron to make my hair look great, especially since I hadn't had time to get it looking good before I left in the morning anyway. And now I'm really wanting a flat iron of my own! They are magic!

You're probably thinking like I was at this time - what a great morning and what great presents, but that was it, right? Nope. There was more. Alese handed me another envelope, in it another funny card with directions to take myself to the mall where I would meet a "personal shopper" and have my own shopping spree! I'm not kidding - that's what it said. So I meet my personal shopper (who turned out to be my friend Andrea) at Barnes and Noble, and I got to buy some nice things. Andrea had an envelope of cash that I was not to see or know the amount that was in it, and anything I wanted, she paid for with cash from the envelope. I've never felt more pampered! It was a whole lot of fun, and I think it's proven now that I'm married to the most thoughtful guy in the world. Thanks Mac!

Here I am giving him a chaste kiss in front of the girls to express my thanks (don't worry, I thanked him a lot bit better once we were alone . . . .)

And here I am with my girls and the birthday cake my grandma made me. Thanks Gram!What could I possibly wish for after such a great day?

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's almost nine o'clock and I'm sitting at my parent's table in my pajamas while my kids watch PBS, dreading the chore of packing up all my stuff that is scattered throughout the house by now, not to mention the cleaning I have to do before I leave so that when my parents return home from Florida, they won't be greeted by a total mess. In our short time here this week, my girls and I have managed to break a precious piece of pottery my dad made and which is my mom's favorite, and the kitchen disposal. I'm working on that last one right now. I'm hoping my Grandpa Marquiss might be able to fix it for me, I mean, for my parents so I don't have to tell them about the destruction I've wreaked while staying unsupervised at their house. And then I have the four-hour drive home to look forward to, by MYSELF (minus the three kiddos) because Mac is in Arkansas. Did I mention that I am now 30?

It's my birthday, and I'll cry if I want to.

I'm throwing myself a party - a PITY party!

I'm the kind of mom who, on days I do make myself do the girls' hair, it still looks like they slept in the hairdo made the day before. I also let them dress themselves a lot of the time, and you know this means mismatched socks and odd ensembles of shirts and pants. That's why this photo shoot with the girls is so wonderful to me - it shows them off at their best. I can look at these photos for hours! When I do study these pictures, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have a house full of girls, which means (if I focus on the positive stuff) there is a lot of giggling, picture-drawing, and dressing up. Currently, every day, the girls draw me and Mac a picture, decorated with multiple stickers. The drawings for Mac usually end up by the front door, waiting for him to walk in and see the nice surprises the girls have left for him. Mine are often handed straight to me, and then I put them on the fridge after effusive thanks and praise. Sometimes, like when I've gone for a run in the morning, I'll come back and the girls will have drawn me a picture and put it by the door, like they do for dad. And other times, they'll draw pictures for their friends across the street or at church and save the precious drawings until they see this friend. These are good times, when our young daughters are so enthusiastic about sharing their love and talents with as many people as they can. I get a kick out of how Kate draws her pictures and how she loves to sign them "Love ?" so we have to wonder who drew us the beautiful picture. It's so fun to see Avery's drawing develop - just recently, her scribbles have turned into people with actual bodies and looooooong legs.

Yes, despite the whining and the occasional tantrums, mothering these three girls is pretty awesome. I'm really glad I have these beautiful pictures to remind me of that.

For Your Viewing Enjoyment

With all the worry and work that goes with trying to sell your house in a slow house buying market, I'm finding it difficult to make time for blogging. But I can quickly pass on the tidbits of entertainment that help take my mind away from my stress. Mac and I thought this was hilarity perfected. Just copy and paste into your browser - you'll be glad you did.

http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien/video/clips/birdwatching-21709/1022961/