~HB ADVENTURE~ – Page 78 – "If you don't see the book on the shelf, write it." ~ Beverly Cleary

April 18, 2014

Bainbridge B-Day Celebration

For my birthday, in February, Barry rented a house on Bainbridge Island for the weekend. It was a house with a spectacular view of the water, a state-of-the-art kitchen and enough furniture to block the stairs off from Audrey Bell. In our pre-kid life, Barry and I would have drooooooled over the kitchen and spent time marinating something yummy. We had plans to do just that, but this season of our life isn’t about big cooking/baking projects, and most of the weekend was spent away from the kitchen and with our little ones. Most of our time, when we weren’t exploring the little town or at a park, was spent at the house with the girls.

On the first night there, we discovered that Full House was playing on TV and we found ourselves remembering episodes and watching it with Maggie. As a kid, I loved that show and it was really random and fun to share that little piece of the 90s with Maggie. And she totally loved Michelle….and I totally still love Uncle Jesse.

Barry always does an amazing job of finding the best places to celebrate and this was no exception. The bathtub in the upstairs bathroom was luxurious and I got to enjoy a long soak with a full cup of coffee while looking out the window. Best tradition ever: no gifts, just trips.

On that note, I’m off to help prepare for Maggie’s birthday/Easter celebration. This year we’re breaking from the ‘go somewhere’ tradition because 1. her birthday falls on Easter and 2. she really wants a friend party.

I get it. She’ll only be four once, so we better let her celebrate in her special way.

April 17, 2014

The Past is in the Past. . .

This morning Barry and I got some really, really great belly laughs from these pictures. I told him I didn’t think there were words for these. His response?

“Oh, there are words: not cute.”

And he’s right. How did we look so tired BEFORE we had any kids? My mom took these pictures a day before Maggie was born and I think it is very, very apparent that Barry and I BOTH were done being pregnant. Here’s a post I wrote around this time.

I was lucky enough to have two easy pregnancies in terms of my own health and delivering two healthy, amazing babies. But towards the end….oh, man. I just didn’t feel good. (And truthfully, Audrey’s pregnancy ended in a big, huge scare….). The few days before Maggie was born, the weather had started to change and I was really angry about it. Birds were tweeting, flowers were blooming and I had zero clothes that fit and my who-ha didn’t feel good. I went to the store and bought the largest pregnancy shirt known to man – it was purple and light weight. I wore that shirt for exactly one walk around the block, a walk that Barry claims was at a snail’s pace, and burned it immediately after I gave birth.

We have a secret archive of pictures that fall in to the category of “never needing to see the light of day” and for these have been buried in that vault for a long time. But this morning when both Barry and I had our laugh attacks, I decided to post them. Maybe nobody else will think they’re funny or horrible in the same way that we do. I had a friend ask about how we felt before we had Maggie and how we planned/prepared. Well, when I look at those two tired looking people grinning and smiling, I don’t remember having any type of plan or ‘knowing’ anything about being a parents.

But that didn’t stop us. . .

April 16, 2014

Feeling Magical

Maggie has told me a time or two that when she grows up she wants to be a teacher and a mama. I know that this is because she knows that I was a teacher before I became a mama. Last weekend we got to see a magician at a birthday party and Maggie has been talking about him ever since. Last night we were reading stories before bed time and she wondered if I had ever been a magician. I told her I hadn’t, and asked if she’d like to be a magician when she grows up. At first she said yes, but then quickly changed her answer back to saying she wanted to be a mama and a teacher.

Well, I”m changing my answer after today. There’s no need for any nitty-gritty details here, but I think I must have forgotten that some days I most certainly do feel like a magician. And anybody that says mothers aren’t magicians (and teachers, too!!) don’t know nuthin’ about nuthin’.

I am a magician. (go ahead, whisper it to yourself….you’ll feel pretty badass…)