Birthdays, Lemonade and Handsome Fathers...

There's not a whole lot that I didn't like about last weekend.
Family.
Cake.
Sunshine.
Ice Cream.
Celebrations.
Pie.

Did I mention... there were a lot of dessert's?

And what's not to like about that? Well, except, of course- it reminds me that I really should hit the gym a few extra times this week (or once... yeah- that'd be good). Which also reminds me that last time I did go, I had to enter in a new (ahem...) larger number when the Precor asked for my age/weight. I'm talking about the AGE, people- not the weight, thank you very much! Though, I find it all circles back around again to the desserts- and I just may, indeed, find myself entering in a bigger number for both next time I go.

But even so, it was worth it- every last bite of Culver's ice cream cake. Ummm.

My favorite celebration this weekend was celebrating the men I love...
My "first love" (my Daddy)...

And the LOVE of my life (my kids Daddy)...

I'm pretty sure there are a whole lot of good dads out there, but I'm also pretty sure that my kids have been blessed with the creme de la creme. Watching this man with his kids is like watching your favorite chic flick movie over and over again.

It's safe. It's cozy. It always makes you smile. It never gets old.

And It always makes you feel good.

Oh, how I LOVE this man!

He's devoted to these children with every fiber of his being.

He delights in them.

He prefers being with them and spending time - just being their Daddy- over everything else this world has to offer.

I was lucky enough to have that kind of Daddy when I was growing up...

And now I'm married to the same kind of extraordinary man.

And in return, they are all just as crazy about him. You've never heard bigger exclamations of, "Daddy!!!!!" and seen bigger tackles than when Dad walks in the door from a business trip.

As a show of adoration, Ariana wrapped up her prized tootsie roll for her Dad and presented it to him on Father's Day. She proudly presented her gift. Watched, eyes wide and smile beaming as  he opened her gift.

And then, right after I took this picture - had I kept clicking away- the next shot would have been of her reaching her palm flat open and asking her Daddy, "Ok, can I have it back now?"

Yes, this weekend was bathed in celebrations... one right after the other. Birthday parties (more than just mine, Father's Day, Lemonade stands...

OK- so the lemonade stand was more like a celebration of being young and adorable enough to stand with your glass tip jar on the side of the road anxiously waiting for people to not only drive by, but to stop and get out and make your entire day.

So, here's to looking adorable...

And here's to being brave enough to wait on the side of the road with your glass tip jar for cars to drive by...

...and stop...

...so you can serve them lemonade.

I love summer weekends.

When it's sunny.

And there is dessert.

And a little lemonade to wash it down ;)

What plans do you have for this summer weekend?

Leveled...

Once upon a time there was a Mom who wanted to relive a beautiful childhood memory with her family. She thought about it all day, imagining every last little detail perfectly in her mind even down to visions of walking hand in hand with her handsome husband and her children blissfully skipping down the sidewalk in front of them excitedly racing towards the playground that she, herself, had played at as a little girl.

She counted down the minutes to 5 o'clock. As soon as her husband logged off his computer they'd be off, smiles and anticipation already packed and ready to go.

The clock ticked 5 PM and though the anticipation and excitement was packed- that, unfortunately, was all that was ready to go. Her dog needed to be fed and let out, her kids needed to be corralled from racing around the house and the babies diaper bag was lacking the essentials. Still... her glorious plans would not be hampered!

Her family managed to get buckled safely in the van and (eventually) they were on their way.

(Yes, that's the family right up above. Not, of course, buckling themselves into the van- but at the daughters piano recital the week before.)

Though delayed, she was still hopeful! They would soon arrive at the pizza place by the beautiful lake her Daddy had taken her to countless times during summers of her childhood. They'd eat pizza, drink pop from a bottomless pitcher and then walk just as she'd planned (parents holding hands, kids skipping with glee) along the shore until they reached the playground where they'd swing their kids and watch them slide until the sun sprayed golden across the water.

The drive seemed to take forever. Everyone was hungry. Tired. Crabby. She tried desperately to subdue everyone with mantras of "2 more minutes" for the last 12 minutes of the trip.  

As the family rounded the corner anticipation was built up- "we're almost there, guys!"

And then...

They WERE THERE!

The pizza place, however, was not.
It had been leveled!
There was nothing there but flat, black freshly laid rock.

Images of pizza and pop and everyone (in slow motion) throwing their heads back laughing at each others silly stories over dinner were being replaced by the real sounds of kids whining, the baby's hungry cries growing louder and the Dad's frustration at the crowded streets (The Mom might have even heard a few "moron!" (s) muttered under the Dad's breath as they tried to navigate their way through jammed traffic and oblivious pedestrians crossing the road).

Where would they eat? More importantly- WHEN would they eat? The Mom (so adept at planning) had made no Plan B. Dad turned the corner and kept driving, the kids kept complaining and the baby kept crying.

The family continued on down the road. The Mom was sure the night was ruined. She told the Dad he might as well drive back home. If home had been closer than 30 minutes away, perhaps that's what he would have done.

But they ended up at another pizza place - (15 miles) down the road and the Mom found a coupon to boot. Said pizza place even had outdoor seating... things were looking up.

Family ate and left and remembered a fabulous park just down the street from the pizza place.

Turns out, kids were skipping after all!

Heads were throwing back with childhood delight.

Mom's vision of her babies in swings were coming to pass. Different swing- same delightful giggle. Music to her ears...
 

They were having fun.

FUN!

So they weren't at the park at the lake. But they did make it to a park. And the kids were happy and swinging. And the parents even did hold hands, when their hands weren't busy holding their babies.

Though the Mom had thought her plans- like the pizza place building- had been completely leveled, it turns out the new journey they ended up on was just as good...

... if not better.

And the Mom was reminded, once again, that it's not about how well your "plans" turn out - it's how you play the hand you're dealt.

And that even when we think our plans - all these glorious plans we love to make- have been leveled... there is beauty, joy and unique treasure to be found in places we never, originally, "planned" to look.

Baby don't g(r)o(w)...

I look at your face, an equal mix of determination and sheer exhilaration.

You did it!

You're up!

You're off...

And just like that, you're taking that first step out of your mama's life.

Of course it happens slowly. Maybe not quite so dramatic.

But the first step, indeed, it is.

 A little unsteady at first. It's so brand new!

But I watch you persevere. Unsteady, but resolved.

And I watch you go.

You glance back at your Mama and Daddy.

Yes, little one, we're still here!

We'll always be here.

 We're proud of you, baby! Every single one of us.

You're the light of our lives, adored by us all.

 So off you g(r)o(w).

But, please, not too fast.

Your Mama's heart is still a few too many steps behind.

A splash about Christian, a pinch about hemangiomas & a dash of Ariana

Though she likes to call herself the "big sister"- the truth is Ariana isn't really that much bigger than her little brother who's 3 years younger. The "baby" of our family is quite a big boy! I think his head might actually be bigger than his sisters and at his 9 month check up today, I found out that they also weigh nearly the same.

The other thing I found out at the Dr. today was that they have a new experimental drug they are using for hemangiomas. I actually did not find this out at his Dr. appointment- I found it out at my Dr. appointment that Christian and I attended just before his. We had back to back appointments this afternoon- different Dr.'s, different clinics, different streets-  within a mile of each other and timed one right after the other. Not bad!

First stop was the dermatologist for me where she proceeded to biopsy 2 spots of possible basal cell carcinoma. I won't hear until next week, but I'm not too worried about it as basal cell is not as serious as something like melanoma. As a matter of fact, I was told today that at some point, every single person will develop basal cell if they live long enough!

Anyway, the first thing the dermatologist said was, "I know you're not here for Christian," but I want to mention to you a new cutting edge treatment they are using for hemangiomas using topical Timolel. I already knew that using Beta blockers (strong drugs traditionally used for treating heart problems) has an amazing effect in shrinking infantile hemangiomas. Totally unrelated - but something they discovered by chance a couple years ago. However, what I didn't know was that now they are using a topical beta blocker - (the topical Timolel she referred to)-  given topically through an eyedropper to treat superficial hemangiomas (like Christian has- the kind that does not go deep into the skin) with huge success, without the systemic (and possibly scary side effects) of oral beta blockers.

So, back to the dermatologist. She told me to call Christian's Dr. (he's treated by a specialist in town) because she actually knows him (it's amazing to me how many Dr.'s - who practice completely different specialties- know each other!) and to relay the message and see if he wants to explore that route.

Now, I'm not exactly sure if I want to explore that route- considering that it's experimental and all- but I was intrigued enough to at least leave a message for Christian's Dr. to call me to discuss. So, we'll see what his thoughts are and go from there.

I know it may seem strange to others, but in all honesty, his hemangioma is something we don't even notice. I think what will actually seem strange to us is when someday his hemangioma has completely disappeared. Though, I realize it won't happen overnight- but gradually over the years.

Though Christian has something different than many other kids - we don't see his "flaws" when we look at him. We only see him. And that which makes him different, also makes him... well, HIM, in our eyes. The absolute ONLY reason that I would even consider speeding up the process of shrinking his hemangioma is so that, for his sake, he is not left with too much scarring or repair work needing to be done to the skin on his nose. The whole reason they even suggest shrinking it faster (as opposed to letting it go away on his own) through the surgeries and possible meds is because the skin on the nose is so thin and not very forgiving and doesn't leave a whole lot of "wiggle room" for something like plastic surgery. OK, I'd better stop typing now... visions of Michael Jackson's nose are now dancing around in my head and I'm scaring myself.

Another (much more fun way) that he's different is that he seems to be pretty advanced with his motor skills. He is a fire cracker! So fast!! He's racing up stairs, standing now- on his own- and starting to walk with a walker. When he's not practicing those new moves he's ripping around the carpet. I happened to have my camera close by the other day when Mike was trying to work out in the living room. In between push ups he found a little visitor smack dab underneath him!

And while his little "assistant" was not very effective in assisting him in push-ups, he was extremely effective in making his Daddy smile.

And last but not least, I had to include pictures of what I witnessed to be both very funny and very reassuring. If you remember from about a year ago- with the trouble we had with Ariana eating (or not eating I should say), you'd understand why.

But for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about... Ariana went through a period of about a year and a half where she lost interest in eating. She gained no weight and it was a huge, major deal around here. LONG story short, things turned around and for the last year she's been an eating machine. She'll eat any and everything we put in front of her and she asks for food all day long. Though normally I would find that annoying, coming from her it's music to my ears.

On this particular morning, she woke up with a hunkering for eggs and oatmeal. So eggs AND oatmeal she got. She decided to put them next to each other and apparently couldn't decide which looked better so she asked for 2 utensils and ate both... at the same time.

Ahhhh. Life is good.

Because it's way more fun...

As I stood in my bathroom this morning brushing my hair, baby wrapped around my legs trying to pull himself up, I listened to the kids race up and down the hallway just outside my bedroom door. As I was thinking about all the items I needed to cross off my "to do" list a text came through on my cell phone that was sitting on the bathroom counter.

The text from my friend read, "Do u wanna go to the zoo today?"

It did not say, "Should you go to the zoo today?" - it said- do you want to go to the zoo today.

Let me see... "to do list" or fun? "too do list" or fun? 

What to do, what to do??

Well, one look out the windows at the blue skies and sunshine and the answer was obvious- GO TO THE ZOO!

So, off to the zoo we went.

Sigh.

I never tire of watching the joy on these kids faces when they first meet up. And the funny thing is, we live 1.2 miles away (and probably only 500 meters, as the crow flies). These kids see each other All.The.Time

As typical, the "friends" pair off. Each one has their mate...

But they love each other.

And they are, after all, kids.

And kids who love each other don't worry about bills and work and "to do" lists.

They just hold hands and giggle and allow themselves to bask in their delight at seeing their best friend... for the 3rd time in a week. It's just as exciting as when they saw them last time.

And as if seeing the "olders" meet up with their best friends doesn't melt my heart enough, one look at this lil guy will do the trick...

No, he's not mine. At least not in the "I carried you in my womb for 9 months and delivered you" way. But he's mine in other ways- like I just love that little guy with all my heart. I think he might be easiest baby I have ever known. Including the 4 I did, actually, "carry in my womb for 9 months and deliver."

And that little cutie up above, belongs with my little cutie down below. See? I told you. They each have their mates. These guys don't hold hands yet- but they do stare at each other and smile and I'm pretty sure that in their eyes they're exchanging knowing plans for all they have in store for their future adventures together.

But the trip was not just about my kids holding hands with their best friends skipping along. We did have some educational experiences thrown in there.

Like, for example, when we went to the bird show. It's really a neat show. I'm surprised that out of the 387 times I've visited the zoo in the last 3 years I've been to the bird show just once. And that was today.

Bird shows are cool. Especially when you get up close and personal with an owl and learn some interesting owl facts. I'm not sure the kids actually learned any owl facts, because they were too distracted just watching him, but I'll pretend they learned a lot about owls today so I can check off my "educational experience" box for the afternoon.

And speaking of learning- I, myself, was super surprised to learn that while my kids will brush a goats hair till the cows come home, curiously, they're terrified to feed a goat some goat food pellets for which their mother shelled out .50 for 5 nuggets. And if my math is correct (which it darn well better be considering the easy equation and that I am, after all, a teacher)- I'd say that's some pretty expensive goat chow. But I digress.

Goat grooming does, after all, appear to be reasonably more enjoyable than letting a goat slobber all over while they inhale a .10 cent pellets from your hand.

Even baby Christian had fun watching the goats for about 6 seconds - in which I was lucky to snap this picture.

And then he cried.

The kids were even lucky to enjoy something they don't get to have very often. Pop! Yes, we all shared it. And yes, I drank most of it. But for them to get unlimited swigs off of moms coke was seriously big time for them.

I'm glad I got that text this morning. And I'm proud of myself for throwing my "to do" list to the wind. Spending a beautiful afternoon at the zoo with awesome friends is way more fun than paying bills and organizing junk that will just get messed up soon enough, anyway.

... my "to do" list can wait.

It will be still be there tomorrow.