Tell me about it stud or something like that

Growing up I would spend my days at my Grandma's and Grandpa's house while my mom was at work. I loved being at their house. It was a magical place where I could do whatever I wanted. I remember jumping on the spare bed until the mattress fell off the bed. I would get out the Light Bright, get bored after 5 minutes and then want to jump on the bed again. My poor Grandma would always let me.

I'm sure she loved seeing me go home as much as she loved spending time with me.

One of my absolutely favorite things to do was spend time in their bathroom. The walls were tiled half way up. They were this green color with white abstract swirls in them. I would try to figure out what picture the swirls made in the tile. One of them looked like the profile of an old man.

When I wasn't finding pictures in the tiles, I would be spending long periods of time with the door shut. They had a full length mirror on the back of the door. I remember spending hours studying my face. I loved how my face changed with each emotion. I would talk to myself and then laugh at how funny I was. Being an only child does that to a person. My Grandma was busy cleaning up the spare room. My Grandpa was getting down the tape recorder for the bazillionth time that day. I had some free time to talk to my BFF in the mirror.

I practiced lines from Grease. I always wanted to be Sandy. I'd show up to preschool in my new pair of Seattle-blue jeans, my flip-flops with rainbow straps and my favorite Snoopy shirt I got at the San Diego zoo. Jeff, my pre-school crush, would see me across the room and want to play with me on the playground. Then I would make that "tell me about it stud" look that I had been practicing in the mirror and he would be wowed.

You can imagine my delight and horror when I Zoe did this:

She's a couple years from perfecting her "tell me about it stud" look. I think we'll work on it this weekend. She does have Sunday School!

When worlds collide

A couple nights ago N got home from work a bit early. He offered to put Zoe to bed so I could get my clothes and gym bag ready for the next morning.

As usual, in 8.5 minutes he was out of her room and she was snoring. I have no idea how he does that. It takes me 30 minutes or longer to have the same result. I like to think it's because Zoe finds our girl bonding so enjoyable and not that I'm a sucker for all her cute antics.

N sat on the bed as I was figuring out what to wear. He pulled out my make-up bag to look inside. He pulls out my lotion and asks what it is. "Ooh, it smells citrisy." I can tell he's enjoying this.

Then he pulls out my acne spot treatment. "Do you just put this on the zit? Then what? Hey is that why you don't have any?" I love how romantic he is.

I use a mineral make-up. With that kind of powder foundation you have to get a make-up primer so the stuff stays on your face. N takes out the primer, reads it and says, what do you use primer for? Is it like the schlacking you put on before you texture a wall."

Why yes, yes it is. It's my face schlack. Doesn't my wall-o-face look smooth.

We're 4 for 4

I can remember the day vividly. It was a beautiful September day, much hotter than anyone expected. I slept in, ate some breakfast, stopped by the reception hall and then ran off to the salon for my pampering. In all that time I felt excited and content.

I met N in our high school youth group 12 years prior. He was a skinny band geek. Yet he was always wanting to hang out, always wanting to be near me. I was a girl who had never had that kind of attention. It totally freaked me out that some guy would actually like me. He convinced me to go to two dances with him. To this day, those were some of the best memories from high school.

He was also my first real date. We went to see The River Wild. He insisted on holding both my hands. I found it odd and annoying. It was actually one of the things that caused me to break up with him exactly 24 hours later.

He's also the one who kissed me after that movie. He made my knees go weak and my stomach jump all over the place.

For some reason all the fun we had together was overshadowed by so much and God's timing wasn't right.

Until 12 years later when I would be getting into my wedding dress and commiting to love, honor and obey him.

It was a perfect ceremony. It was personal and fun. Even though I don't remember too much of the specifics, I remember feeling safe, loved and home in N's arms. At the time I didn't think it possible that my love for him could grow. These last 4 years have brought with it a fight: a fight to love one another, a fight to stay alive, a fight to keep our marriage progressing. All that fighting has paid off.

Neither of us are the people that were at that altar 4 years ago. We're better and we're more a team than I could've ever hoped for.

N, thank you for loving me, for not giving up on us, on me. You have shown me more about love than I knew was possible. It is my honor and privilege to walk this life next to you. I fall more in love with you each day. You are my hero, my partner and my love.

Happy anniversary. May the next 4 years be full of more adventures and less snakes! I love you.

A little pampering can feed the soul

Last night I thought it would be fun to play salon with Zoe. We've never played before and she's entirely interested in combing other people's hair. Plus she's at the age when she understands things like "don't pull on the comb, it's stuck in mommy's hair" and "gentle, be gentle with the brush."

I like all things related to my hair. Unless you count that unfortunate time in junior high when I found mystery gum after sixth period. I'm getting that same queazy feeling that I experienced every day of junior high, so we'll move on.

I love having my hair played with. It's the ultimate relaxation. There could be some selfish motive in teaching Zoe to play salon. If I was that kind of mother, that is.

We started by getting out all our accessories.

Then, while Zoe organized and color sorted the bin (she's totally in herited my OCD tendancies, I even caught her making sure all the frogs faced up), I did her hair.

I actually can't believe how long it's getting. I can actually put in pig tails that are lower on her head. Which is perfect for fall/winter hat seasons.

Then it was my turn. Apparently I needed some extra conditioning or a perm. She wasn't real specific on my kind of treatment. If it doesn't involve gum or one of those comb curling irons, I knew I would be fine.

The she finished instructing me where to put the accessories. Her feeling isn't less is more.

Maybe next time I can teach her about a scalp massage.

Here comes the Muffin Girl

Zoe isn't really a breakfast girl. She's like her dad that way. When we find something that she will eat for breakfast, we make sure we have enough on hand for that week. At least for the next few days she'll be eating it.

What's even better in her world is if she can help you make it.

As she was "cooking" in her kitchen, she saw that I was getting ready to cook in the real kitchen. She dropped all her fake spices and ran as fast as her legs could go. I seriously hope this enthusiasm continues into other areas like dishes and putting away her shoes!

We have gotten into making mini-muffins. What's best is she can help with all aspects of it.

From the pouring of ingredients...

to the stirring and even the spooning into the muffin tin.

I would get an actual picture of the muffins, but when you live with Muffin Girl, it's hard to get a good picture.

What kid-friendly breakfast is a staple in your house?

Wordless Wednesday

A few bowling lessons for our guests

To start off our Labor Day weekend, we had Luke and Angela over for some dinner and Wii bowling. It's one of Zoe's favorite things to do.

She loves when we have friends over who are fairly new to the Wii bowling. It gives her a chance to show them the ropes. She's such a dedicated teacher that she will even bowl right next to you to ensure you have proper form.

I have no idea what we're going to do with her at a real bowling alley.

After it was time to get jammies on and get ready for bed, it was time for the real action to start. What do you get when you pit a husband and a wife against each other in a tennis match?

A little friendly competition that eventually leads to throwing down of a gauntlet called Mario Kart.

Thanks for coming to visit Luke and Angela. Next time it'll be some enchiladas and some curling.