Your Words, My Friends

I will be thanking (with kendraspondence in kind) those of you who reached out after my last post.  You made me feel not so alone, and hopefully others out there in the ether who are navigating a road toward mental wellness (let me give you a hint:  that final destination might surface and resurface over time) might also feel your words reminding them of their not being so irrevocably alone... *** Nice little weekend here.  Spent a lot of couch time, took a bath, took a walk, did a bit of grumbling on the lap of the man I love, watched Hollywood dazzle, graded a few papers, felt miraculously rested when Monday morning came.

The highlight of the weekend, though, was visiting my mates who live at the self-proclaimed Little Stone House.  I invited myself to their place, because that's how I roll, and what did they decide to do but make a cake and pretend like *I* gave them an excuse to celebrate their daughter Fabiola's birthday.  (You may remember that Fabi is actually made of cookie dough, and you are probably wondering why we didn't just slice and bake her for the birthday?  But I guess, heh, for traditions sake, the cake seemed more appropos).

If you don't have Stef and Jason for friends, I'm afraid it is too late since any of their mutual friends reading this will agree that their dancecard is already filled by us.  They are just beautiful inside and out, and by that I mean they have beautiful souls AND beautiful furniture.  They are wonderfully creative and their daughters have such bright spirits.  This family is downright infectious and I don't know what friend lottery I won, but I am taking the whole lump sum winnings and keeping them all to myself :)

***

Big Sis Mirabelle wonders, Can we get some candles around here?

Mama Stef with her gals

Fabi to Papa Jason:  I totally know you grew this beard for my birthday so I could cakemoosh it.  Thanks, Pops.

The man who gives mini-manis is the one you keep.

Three cheers for dear friends....

Ten for a Tuesday

1.) I recently bought Pull-Ups for the first time.  I felt ridiculously embarrassed even walking down the aisle which obviously shelves bladder control products and diapers.  I sincerely worried that people would assume that I was headed to buy me some Depends, since pregnancy/ childbirth really wrecks your ability to sneeze and not lose control over your other functions.  Annnnd I've already shared too much. 2.) Speaking of Pull-Ups, Baby Girl had her first day at daycare rocking the Pull-Ups. I expected to pick her up and for her daycare provider to be shaking her head, holding up a drenched Pull-Up, saying, "Yeah.  Not. Ready. Yet."  Instead, Baby Girl was given a standing O by all of her teachers at her mad potty training skillz.  Holla!

3.) I could not shake my sense of disconcertedness all day long over the conclusion to "The Bachelor."

4.) Lovey Loverpants is right now picking up our friend Doc Albie at the airport.  I think Albie is the Korean brother I never had.  I absolutely love his Korean guts.

5.) I asked my academic dean if he will observe one of my classes this week.  I could really use some feedback, particularly on how to engage 30 college students on grammar before they all lapse into their hungry-for-lunch comas.

6.) I purchased a new monogrammed Easter bunny basket for Baby Girl.  Why the plastic woven green and yellow $.99 special from Big Lots was not good enough for her, I cannot explain.  Pottery Barn Kids has a way of sending its catalog at precise moments of consumer weakness, I swear.

7.) I cannot imagine a time in the future when I will be as blessed with friends who live so close as the ones I have right now.  And the ones who live far away, they are pretty stellar, too.

8.) I have seen exactly 2 of the movies nominated for the Oscars:  "An Education," and "Julie and Julia."  I HIGHLY recommend the former.  I hope Streep wins it for best actress for the latter. I would not mind seeing "The Blind Side" and "Food, Inc." and I positively want to see "Up."

9.) I am really homesick to see my parents.  All six of them.

10.) I recently took a CPR refresher course and I am feeling so much more confident about my ability to not morph into a paralyzed garden gnome in a moment of crisis.  I am giving my students 10 extra credit points if they get certified or recertified in CPR.

***

Baby Girl reading in a cafe.  She's soooo Parisian.

And so flirtacious.

Pictureless

Monumental things that have happened recently of which I do not have photographic proof:- 18 hours in Meadville, PA. Cold enough to freeze the freckles off your face. Warm-hearted friends Jamie, Ashleigh, Austin reminded it was worth the little junket to the coldest town in N. America. Although I do hear parts of Saskatchewan are quite cold, too. - Baby Girl getting her first haircut in the bathtub. Lovey Loverpants not noticing. Me telling Loverpants about the shorn locks. Loverpants asking me if I saved a lock as a souvenir. Me looking at him like, For whom do you mistake me? One of those sentimental savers of shriveled umbilical cords in scrapbooks? Gross. - The look of incredulity one of my students gave me when I told him it was time to begin class and that it was insulting that he was trying to carry on a cellular phone convo. I think it was the first time he received this memo. - Breakfast with my former roommates, two of us pregnant, one with punk rock awesome hair, all so excited to be sharing Boston as a common address once more.

***

I do have some pictures unrelated, however.

Our snowman menagerie, por ejemplo:

My awesome new commuter mits:

Chicken n' Waffles. Don't hate, congratulate.

And a pottytrainer: