Those Moments of ...

still.
If you've ever experienced a moment in time where everything just seems eerily still, then you know how I felt yesterday after hearing news of the collapsed bridge. This bridge that Bill used to drive home from work on every single day. This bridge that I drive on with regularity. I wish I could understand why these things have to happen.
The good news is that there are loads of people who actually survived this tragedy and are here to share their story. The devastation of the lives lost is almost too much to bear.
There was a school bus on that bridge. They all survived. Think how tight their mothers held them when they came home.
Give your loved ones that extra little squeeze and thank God for another day. As I've said before, that's all we really ever get.
Thank God for all of you who are safe and well and who I love whole heartedly.

How Is It August Already?!?

Here we've got Cecelia in her 80's get-up and Delaney playing with the bucket. We've got the girls at Como Zoo. You can see how tentative Delaney is about getting on the merry-go-round. There are a couple "before" shots, but as you can see she enjoyed it once we were on. There's a random shot of Cece in the pool and then a couple pics of the animals - including a choice shot of the gorilla's butt. Lastly, some pics of Marilyn's kids Amie and Jon (w/ Kacie) entertaining the girls at the cabin. And, of course, CeCe and Harry picnicing in the porch after playing out back.

Enjoy!!

Summer Luvin'......Thus Far

Wow, where to begin?!? Bill and I took some time off of work to enjoy the week of the 4th. It's a tradition we started last year and will try to do annually from now on. "Vacationing" at home, we have found, is a fabulous idea and highly recommended to you all.

Thursday was my first day off so the girls and I met up with Ronnie and Hayden at the Children's Museum (a little FYI, all the local libraries are giving out - first come, first serve- FREE passes to ALL the local zoos, museums, art centers and historic landmarks). We made good use of the passes and the kids had a blast - as you can see.

We left on Saturday for the lakes where we met up with our friends, family and a billion kids. What once used to be a place to party and get a tan is now where we run ourselves ragged chasing our children. Baby Lucy is the exception to that rule until next summer - she is the newborn with the rediculously cute hair sleeping in the floatie. We did manage to have fun, of course. I even got up on skiis at Jill's cabin. However, I paid the price for days with sore muscles.

We returned home and enjoyed the hot July air out back. We had a few rainy days which proved to be a nice relief from the sun.

Waking up this morning and going back to "real life" was not fun but we are definitely looking forward to the rest of the summer.

Play on.....

Random Thoughts

I was talking to a friend a while back about all this blogging and where we get our "inspiration." The fact is you can't just sit down at the computer and expect to be brilliant or clever. For me, these random thoughts come at night. Every single night of my life I lay in bed before falling asleep and think about my day, my life, my world. This blog is actually really nice for me because now I have an outlet for all these random thoughts.
My thoughts last night were of, what else, my kids. It's only been 3 1/2 years of this motherhood business for me so it is still, quite evidentally, a new adventure and learning experience. Anyway, this is what I have to share today:
As a new baby arrives (especially for a first time mom) we start in with our instincts and philosophies about how to deal with this little pink thing. The major focus for the first couple of years is sleep, eating, bathroom needs and training. We read books, talk to other moms and fumble our way through. What has suprised me recently is how all of a sudden you look at your child and he/she is sleeping in their big bed, going to the bathroom alone, helping themself to a snack or getting some water from the fridge. They are getting in to the car and in to their carseat without help, entertaining their younger sibling and putting their own clothes on. What I'm getting at is all that hard work that gets put in to raising a small child really pays off. Teaching babies to fall asleep on their own, use a cup or spoon and use a potty is the hardest work on earth. What's harder is watching them "get it" and become independent from you. I guess all the stuff parenthood is made of it bittersweet in the end. It's so good to see you've actually done a good job, but then all you want to do is go back and swaddle them in a blankie.

Fun, Fun, Fun, look who's ONE!

My baby girl turned one on June 1st - isn't she adorable?? I didn't realize until just now that this was her golden birthday. Perhaps I should have commemorated it better. I guess I have a year to think about it. We threw little Miss Delaney a party on Sunday. She looked the part in her little Birthday Girl t-shirt and skirt. She was such a good girl at her party. Her most memorable moments were: Being loved and adored by her family and friends, playing with the tissue paper and trying to eat some of it, and eating her very first piece of birthday cake. Her big sister was also very good and a huge help during the fiesta. Our pool party theme was cute but the weather did not cooperate with us on the actual pool party. There's always next year!

This year has flown by so fast that I still can't believe it's gone. Chasing around a toddler/preschooler made for a different experience with Delaney's first year vs. Cecelia's. I guess I've learned that with subsequent children you have to make a point to soak in those little milestones because before you know it they're moving on to something new and amazing. Delaney is on the cusp of walking now, which is really exciting, and getting one tooth after another. I've cut out the day time bottles and have her down to one in the morning and one at night. I will cut those out in the next two weeks as well. She can eat big girl food and drink from a cup all by herself. She babbles and tells stories and makes herself laugh. If only I could speak her language. I could go on and on about how sweet she is. I feel so blessed to have her and Cecelia in my life. I love birthdays but I love every day too because, in reality, that's really all we get - one day at a time. I'm sad to think that my baby isn't really a baby anymore but I am excited and anxious for all the new things we get to experience together.

Happy Birthday Laney Lanes.

Mother's Day Weekend

It's hard to believe that this is my 4th Mother's Day. It's my first with Delaney, however, so that made it even more special. I received two hanging plants for the backyard that look beautiful. I told Bill that it's a good thing the girls didn't get pulled over on their way to the store. I have no idea how many phone books Cecelia had to sit on to see over the steering wheel. Bless their little souls.

So, what makes this mom truly happy? ORGANIZING AND CLEANING!! We worked our tails off over the weekend. Bill pulled the pool cover off to reveal the dirtiest pool I've ever seen. You can see that the pretty blue tile liner isn't even visible because of all the crud. The pool guys have come now so the water should be clear in just a few days. We've sprayed the weeds, layed grass seed, mowed, watered and trimmed up the yard. We cleaned out the shed as well as the garage. We also prepared the house for our houseguests that will be arriving tomorrow night. Getting stuff done is like a drug to me. Once it's done I'm on a high.

As a reward for our hard work we lit up the bon fire and hung out in the backyard. Cecelia spotted us through her bedroom window so we let her come and hang out for a while before bed. It's hard to get away with anything these days.

Sunday morning the family let me sleep in (another FAVORITE of mine). Later that afternoon Bill took the girls to his parent's house so that I could finish getting stuff done around here and actually get the house to myself (yet another FAVORITE). All in all I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day.

On that note I would just like to say I love you to my babies. Without them I feel I would be nothing. As my friend Barbara would say: BLESSINGS.

Eat You For Breakfast

As morbid as it sounds I like to tell my girls that I love them so much I could eat them for breakfast. Sounds crazy, but I really could. A nice big bite of baby thigh with a side of chubby cheek. Throw in a cup of coffee and I'm good to go. Seriously, take a good look at Delaney's leg and tell me it doesn't call out to you.

Welcome to my world.