And today

I have all of our bedrooms finally painted. Phew! Two bathrooms, laundry room, upstairs hallway, the walls in the basement staircase, possibly the kitchen and a redo of my dining room-turned-into-den are left. Note to self: don't match paint to fabric. (I have red walls that were supposed to be Persimmon but I haven't repainted because Z likes the color.) Shh! Don't tell him I am going to redo it. Eventually.

I am thankful for Color Wonder markers. Kaija followed me around yesterday as I cleaned away the Easter candy fingerprints from my walls and furniture. She scribbled on all the freshly cleaned surfaces. Marking her territory with her color wonders. She likes to recreate every mess that I clean up, to the best of her ability. For those of you who are not drowning in the parenting life, Color Wonder markers only write on special paper. They are worth their weight in gold, but fortunately cost a lot less.

I am still on the search for the perfect balance. I want something that has not yet hit it's prime, yet doesn't steal the show. Understated elegance. Not too thick and not too thin. Do you know what I'm talking about? Shoes, of course. More specifically, the perfect pump for my sister's wedding. My dress is a statement dress, so I can't have a statement shoe. I don't want the kind of overdone vibe you get from wearing pink or animal print from head to toe. Recently, I read that the best look appears effortlessly chic, whether it is or not. Makes sense. So says the frumped out woman in an oversized tee and jeans, with her hair thrown into a ponytail. I was painting. And yesterday, I was thinking about painting. Duh.

I am contemplating another 10 day cleanse. It doesn't scare me like it used to.

I am thinking of and missing Ukki. The only Grandpa that I ever knew. To know him was to love him. No two ways around that. Today marks the day of his birth. I wish that I could wish him a happy day.

So instead, I wish a happy day to all of you!

She got her pop.
I wish I had thought to leave a note asking for a year supply of gas.
With my luck, I would have gotten beans.

A lesson to be learned at Taco Bell

Three months ago, when I made the appointment, I didn't think I'd have winter weather to contend with. Not even last night did I really believe it. This morning I hesitated to go once I started driving, but I'm glad I did. Had I not gone, I wouldn't have had the touching reminder I had today. In Taco He... er, ah... Bell. Of all places. In my defense, I went there because my kids were perfect at the eye doc and it was worth a celebration. I know, hard to believe. I even had Kaija with me. So Bizzizzy picked the place, she has been begging to go for months. It was painful to drive past Potbelly's and turn into Taco Bell. Seriously. I have a scar to prove it.

From a booth behind Izzy, a lady stood up and straightened out her outfit. Izzy twisted around and noticed her. "Oh, mom! That lady is so cute and pretty. Isn't she cute and pretty? She's just so cute and pretty."

That isn't exactly what I saw. I saw an older, well-to-do woman who was probably snotty. The cute and pretty lady made her way to the bathroom. On her way back, she looked over at our table and smiled. And I decided she must know.

"Um, ma'am?" When she looked me square in the eye, I told her, "My daughter thinks you are absolutely cute and pretty. She keeps repeating it."

And she told me. She told me how that made her day more than I could ever know. How she was recently diagnosed with Cancer, stage four. And how she is in treatment now. How she feels anything but cute and pretty. But that "cute and pretty" comment meant the world to her. After her story, she said to Izzy "God bless you, you cute and pretty little girl. And your mom and sister."

And in that short while, I was proven so wrong. She wasn't just cute and pretty, she was downright beautiful. How quick I was to form an opinion about someone that I had never even talked to. Yet, my little 4 year old could see her beauty. It took everything in me not to cry right then and there. For the cute and pretty lady and the hand she was dealt. You just never really know a person's story just by looking at them. Maybe what I had seen was not snottiness, but sadness.

Turns out, I was the snotty one. It just took a cute and pretty lady and girl to remind me not to judge a book by its cover.
Bits and pieces.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe

It's funny how I am becoming an old married lady when I'm admittedly married, but not really old. C'mon peeps, 30/31 is still a spring chicken. And you know it. My Grandma Lill told me one time that you get to a certain age and you never mentally or emotionally feel older than that. For her, it was 23 years old. I was skeptical. But now I shock myself when I realize that I'm not still 25. Because I seem like it. To me-self. I read a quote that stuck with me. "Old age is 15 years older than I am at the moment." Almost true. I'd add a few years to that, but yeah. It pretty much sums it up. After a conversation a few weeks back with someone much younger than me, I finally came to terms with the fact that I am an old married lady. I was hoping that I seem cooler than that. Uh, no. Apparently not. She didn't tell me I'm not, but our conversation about her and her mom's friends... I am one of her mom's friends. Don't get me wrong, this girl didn't say anything mean. She just said something about not being interested in their convos that much. Huh. We aren't that interesting, after all. Who knew?! Plus, when my (old) friend Penny was here, we talked bargains. And how when you are younger you don't give two hoots. And suddenly I was thinking to myself. "Oh. My. Goodness. Mindi. You are an old married lady! You care about the price of toilet paper! Geek!" I am, people! I'm just glad I realized it before I was 80 and trying to wear leather pants and a leopard print shirt with my hair billowing around my shoulders and dyed a horrible shade of yellow. Penny also said that immediately when you get married and have a baby, you are in the old married ladies club. True. When I first got married and I couldn't help but notice how all the old married ladies in church suddenly came and talked to me every Sunday after church. Crap. They all knew the secret looooong before me. Why didn't they just tell me what was a good price on toilet paper then, too? That's what I'm going to start doing to the newleyweds. Heck, I'll even write it in the wedding card. Funny thing is, those old married ladies really aren't that old anymore. Over and over I have heard that in your thirties you know who you are and accept yourself for who you are. I've learned this to be true, also. It seems so obvious to me now what my personality is like. Honestly, when I was younger, I couldn't see it the way I can now. Actually, it took personality tests (not even kidding) and comments about my personality from other people to realize who I am. It's a strange phenomenon. My guess is, I am not alone in this. It's one of those good surprises that comes with age. Clarification: It's one of those good surprises that comes with not-super-old-age. Unlike the realization that some people see you as an old married lady. Who, by the way, scored huge on some major deals grocery shopping today. Score! Oh, wait. I just sealed the deal, didn't I? Shoot. A monkey.

Lets go get some groceries!

In my new grocery-getter. After not trusting my vehicle enough to make it to the gym, we traded our old jalopy for a GMC Acadia. With the deals going on with the new vehicles, we were thisclose to buying a brand spankin' new Chevy Traverse. (They are cheaper than an Acadia) But they had a used Acadia (not the one pictured) with a lot more options. And we bit. No. We didn't just bite. We swallowed the whole thing. I'm in love.

It only hurt a little bit.

I am that mom.

After a week of vacation, it was really hard to roll out of bed this morning. I muttered about how I wish it were summer vacation so I could sleep in. Until the kids got on the bus and I remembered about my much quieter house. I am that mom. Kaija has boogies caked on her nose. I am that mom, too. Yesterday she was out on the deck with her diapy and a t-shirt. Oh, man! I am that mom, too?! And if you witnessed us in church yesterday: Yep, I am that mom, too. But you already knew that one.

My house is a mess, yet decently clean under the stuff. (That doesn't apply to the kitchen floor.) There are almost always dishes in the sink and it doesn't bother me. I don't always keep my temper in check- that bothers me. I have laundry piled up. My bed is always made. My checkbook balanced. My kids are loud. The baby is allowed to walk around the house with food in her hand. Any kid older than the baby doesn't get that privilege. The garbages sit, overflowing, until someone gives in. There is almost always milk in the fridge, bread in the cupboard, fruit on the counter, you get the picture. But the kids homework isn't always done. I have, on more than one occasion, thrown out school papers that need to be returned. I am always happy to get the kids to bed so I can relax at the end of the day. Out of laziness, I sometimes buy the prepacked lunch stuff/snacks for my kids. And I don't even make their lunches- they do. I encourage independence. My kids bedrooms are never presentable. I usually have a thick layer of dust on all flat surfaces that don't see traffic of any type. These flat surfaces also collect a variety of items that don't belong there: a brush, comic book, rubber bands, pens, you get the picture. We like to share hugs in this house. And we try to eat our veggies.

Oh, yes, I am that mom. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Unless, of course, you are giving me a housekeeper. That, I'd consider.

Skip the showers, April brings me flowers

We made it to April!! Can I get a Woot Woot? It was the light at the end of the tunnel for me. **happy sigh** Oh, how I love you, April! Never was there a month so beautiful... IT IS going to be all sunshine and flowers around here for a while. PERIOD. Thanks for your cooperation. Now Z and I need to go and celebrate. We did it, Zaner!

So. Let's talk sunshine and flowers.
*started a fitness challenge on Fb. These friends of mine keep me moving!
*we are keeping the van around until it clunks out on us- investing no more money into it. It feels like a perfect solution.
*I've lost my writing mojo- where did it go? I feel so uninspired and my life in bullet points seems bland. That's ok. After the past year, I'll take the boring bullet points.
*I found a dress for my sisters wedding. With no prego belly to contend with, I could go with what I wanted. Can I get another woot woot? Found it at the Max Azaria outlet. This store is a real outlet. Not just a store that happens to be at the outlet malls with the exact same clothes and prices as all the other stores that share the same name. While I love this designer, normally it would be like eating caviar on a fishstick budget. Until I discovered this store last December. It's so not a "mom clothes" store. It makes me heart sing.
*I told ZZtop that from now on, if he needs an idea for a gift for me, he should just send me to that store to pick out my own. Win, win.
*Now to find the perfect shoes. Be still, my heart.
*The curtain lady will (hopefully) be showing up in my home this month. We are getting curtains in my kitchen. Yay! I'm going to get amazing curtains. You just wait and see.
*Okay, so those last few bullet points were pretty exciting to me.
*Logan's room is still only half painted. Whoops.
*At least I'm an optimist.
*I'm so ready for spring. Let's do this.
*Logan is down to only one crutch to assist him in walking. Baby steps... At PT today, the therapist had him doing many different exercises. It became so clear to me how much strength my little guy lost and how much work we have ahead of us. Yet it is all so worth it because we have waited so long for him to be pain-free. And he is not experiencing the pain he had prior to surgery. The pain he feels now is due to weakness, not Perthes Disease. *happy*happy*happy* Oh, how my hurt used to break when I watched him. We've come so far. How lucky we are. Really, really lucky.

Like I said, life is sunshine and flowers. Hope yours is too!