Surprise Office Makeover for Ian

Ian was out of town earlier this week so I did a "while you were out" sort of office makeover and surprised him. He basically just had a desk, office chair and piles of papers lying all over the floor. It was becoming an eyesore and I was tired of looking at that mess. So, I painted the walls, built a shelf for his files and printer and hung some curtains and new art - tried to make it as masculine as possible. It's nothing special but it looks tons better! He was so surprised!

Before and after...

Mother's Day, New Bikes and Mother Daughter Brunch

Maggie likes to write stories that start out "Once upon a time...." and I kept finding all these short, one-page stories in her room that were about two little girls who had no mother, only a father, and they hoped and dreamed they would get a new mother and finally one day their father fell in love again. I was starting to get a complex...was this Maggie's way of telling me she wished I wasn't her mother or wanted to trade me in for a new one? But Mother's Day came around and all my fears were erased because Maggie did and said some very special things and made me feel loved once again! We dined at Olive Garden for Mother's Day because I wanted a substantial meal. The last Italian restaurant that Ian and I went to we had minuscule portions and it cost almost $200. When we southerners want Italian we want the pasta to cover our entire plate and be smothered in alfredo or something really rich and bad for you. And we want all the salad and breadsticks that we can shove in our mouths. So, Olive Garden did just that for me! Here is a pic from Mother's Day and the new bikes that they both recently got.

Maggie's friend, Lauren, and her mother hosted a Mother & Daughter brunch this morning for all the little girls in Maggie's first grade class since the school year is coming to a close. It was so sweet. They drew pictures of their moms and I had purple hair, a big nose (of course) and was covered in freckles! All the girls filled out questionnaires about their moms and this is what Maggie put about me (and I'm spelling it exactly as she did):

My Mom is __33__ years old.

My Mom weighs __20___ pounds.

My Mom looks like _a tulup___.

My Mom smells like _a rose____.

Her favorite food is __salman__. (can't believe she knew there was an "L" in it)

Her favorite color is __green__.

Her favorite thing to do is __work__. (yeah right!)

Her favorite tv show is __home garden__.

My favorite thing to do with my mom is _sit__.

My Mom's job is _Acsiam__.

For fun, my Mom likes to _Read__.

The thing I like best about my Mom is _shes nice__.

She knows me pretty well except for the work answer, and the 20 lbs! Here are some pictures from the brunch with the pretty little ladies in her class and one terrible picture of me with Maggie, eyes about to close. I'm notorious for ruining a good pic with my eyes closed.

Visit from Nana & Pop

The Perrys came to visit us over the weekend. They were only here a short time so we didn't do too much. Here are a few pictures I took of them with the girls.

Maggie the Jolly Tall Giant

Maggie has always been about a head taller than her classmates but here's the proof! This is her friend Robbie that lives across the street. He's two months older than her!

Lucy Jane Turns 3!

We celebrated Lucy Jane's big day by going to Chuck E. Cheese with the two neighbor boys, Jack and Joe. For months Lucy kept telling me she wanted to have a "pink pony birfday with Jack at ChuckCheese" so that's what we set out to accomplish! I guess we're terrible parents because I'm one of those moms who went above and beyond for the first born child and the second child pretty much gets the shaft. Poor Lucy has to wear the hand-me-down clothes, the second hand tricycles, bikes, scooters, and unfortunately only gets to invite two people to her third birthday party. I guess after having several over the top birthday parties for Maggie when she was younger, I've learned that all that is not necessary. But don't fret Lucy Jane...you will get your big birthday parties in the years to come!

We had an enjoyable time at Chuck E. Cheese playing and dining on pizza and Wal Mart cupcakes. She got a new bike from us, which she has been riding around inside the house on the hardwoods all week. We got massive amounts of snow last weekend so we let her bring the bike in to practice. I keep telling her how big she is riding around on her big girl bike and her reply is always "yep, I'm really good at sumpin." Of course the bike has training wheels but she still falls down quite a bit when she gets stuck between the couch and coffee table. Her daycare told us on Monday that they had noticed lots of bruises on her sides and that they would have to document them!!!! I racked my brain trying to figure out how she could have gotten these mystery bruises in the same place on both sides and it's got to be the bike wrecks! So embarrassing...they must think we're child abusers!! I was a little offended at first that they had to "document the bruises" but Ian and I decided we were glad that the daycares are looking out for the kids in their care because there are lots of kids who ARE actually being abused by their parents and nobody is paying attention!

It's been so hot the last few days and I rolled the windows down on my car. Lucy told me she "liked that wind blowin up her hair!"

By the way, Lucy does NOT pose for pictures so I get the back of her head in EVERY picture. I did manage to get one of her in the princess carriage.

The Happy Couple

Speaking of the wedding I attended in Arkansas, my long-time friend, Shawn, got married in Nashville to Mark, a guy that I grew up with. We actually all grew up together and graduated high school the same year. It was the second wedding for both of them. These two were like best friends all through school, but for whatever reason they never dated each other. They are SO perfect for each other and I'm so thrilled that after all these years, through tough times and unhappy relationships they have endured, they ended up falling in love. It has truly made my whole year and I'm so happy that I got to be there for their wonderful wedding day!

Snow Skiing in Vail

Our dear friends Jason and Allison Kidd came out to visit us in February to go skiing for a few days. Allison was my friend in college and Ian has known Jason his whole life because their parents were great friends. So, when they started dating each other many, many years ago they introduced me to Ian...on a blind date! The rest is history! We have stayed close to them and visit each other a couple times a year. They live in Bentonville, AR in Wal Mart country.

Mike and Carol came out and kept the girls and we headed to Vail with Jason and Allison. I had signed up for ski lessons because I had not skied since I was about 12 years old. I hated it when I was 12, but I remained optimistic this time. Allison is like a pro. She has skied every year since she was about Maggie's age. Ian is also a great skier. He's a real natural. Jason has only been skiing for about six years and he's so tall that I think it's a little challenging for him but from what I saw he was great too. The first day Allison went with me on the kiddie slope and I did pretty well going down it the first few times. She thought I didn't need lessons at all so I canceled them. After lunch we all four decided to take the lift up to one of the greens and ski it down together. We got in line to get on a four-person chair lift and they sent me up in line to sit down on it first, with them following right behind me. Well, I got my skis crossed and totally bit the dust and I could not get up! They backed out of the way and the chair came along and hit me in the back and the weight of the chair kept pushing me and pushing me as I'm crawling on my knees with skis going two different directions! It hurt so bad! The way my legs were positioned, I couldn't have even laid down and let it go over me. So, they shut down the lift! I was mortified, but that was the only way to get me out of there. We continued up the mountain after that fiasco and skied down in the rain and snow. I was terrible just like I was when I was 12. I decided skiing is just not that fun - it's scary! So I only skied that day. I'll definitely try it again because I want to take my girls so they can learn while they're young and not be afraid like I am.

Unfortunately, Lucy had strep while we were gone and Maggie got it later in the week. I got it several days later (when I was in Arkansas for a wedding) and when I talked to Carol after they got home, she had it too! We're all better now and we're looking forward to spring and planning summer activities and vacation with the kids.