melt my heart

this is by far my favorite conversation of the week....
Earlier today, I was working on a blog post for Emma's birthday and I had tears running down my face. Madeline asked why I was crying and I told her that sometimes I get sad because I just wish my girls could stay little. A little while later, she came up to me and said, "Do you know that if you don't blow out the candles on your birthday cake then you don't turn that age and don't get any bigger? So I'm never gonna blow my candles out again and I'll stay little!" Big. Huge. Hug. A few minutes after that, she comes back to me and says, "Mom, on your birthdays can you not blow out the candles either? Cause if I'm always gonna be a little girl then I need you to stay a mommy. Otherwise, I'll just have three grandmas." Not only do I love how her little mind works, but I love the sweetness of this girl. She kills me.

p.s. earlier today, this same little girl left the playroom, ran across the house just to give me a kiss and then ran back to continue playing. please, please, NEVER GROW UP.

62. a full night's sleep

63. consuming tons of cake on a saturday (and having cake-worthy events to attend!)

64. making valentines with madeline

65. when claire tells me "'I'm so proud of you"

66. selling cookies with my girl scout :)

67. cilantro

68. tanning (and feeling heat on my body for the first time in months!)

69. an hour alone in target

70. j crew's extra 40% off sale

71. my inlaws living a mile away

72. God's provision for my every need

73. spur of the moment date nights with my hubby (courtesy of rach)

74. whole foods!!

75. pushing myself to the limit on the treadmill

76. swimming laps then sitting in the hot tub

77. having sore muscles for the first time in months

78. distressed boyfriend jeans

79. gelato

big girl bed!!!!

We finally moved Claire to her big girl bed. After months of her waking up cold and uncomfortable several times a night (and me getting no sleep feeling like I still had a newborn), we finally pulled the plug and took the crib away. She was a little resistant at first, awake and screaming at 1 am the first night, begging for her crib, but she soon fell back asleep and has been sleeping like a champ ever since! The sweetest part is when I can overhear her and Madeline talking and playing with each other when they wake up in the morning. This week has been the first time since we moved that I have slept through the night. I am so much more rested and so much less grumpy when the morning hits :) I can't believe that it was this easy or that it took me this long to ditch the crib....but Claire is in no hurry to be a big girl and I am in no hurry for my baby to grow up. I know it's inevitable, but I plan on delaying it as long as possible! Now we're gearing up to start potty training....eventually!! ;)

bedtime bliss

After months of struggling with Claire waking everybody up insanely early in the morning and me stressing out over how to keep it from happening, I have found a solution that works for now. I have been putting the girls to bed by 6:30 and it has worked out perfectly (thanks beth for the inspiration!). I finally realized that if I could not change the time they were waking up, I could at least make up for it on the other end. The girls fall asleep within minutes of their heads hitting the pillow and I have noticed that the big girls are much more rested when they wake up. I feel a lot less guilty when Claire wakes them up early on a school day because I know that they have gotten a full night's sleep. This week, Ryan has been out of town and it has been such a relief to have them in bed early and to have hours of peace and quiet to regroup before I start it all over again the next day. I know that this routine won't last forever...once the warmer weather is here and the sun is still shining bright at 6:30, I won't be able to fool them into believing that it's bedtime, but I'll take it as long as it lasts and we'll figure out what works when that time comes. Because isn't that how parenting always is? Getting things perfectly figured out just in time for them to change again. Keeps us on our toes, I guess. Or just gives us premature wrinkles and high blood pressure.

busy week

Ryan's been out of town all week and it's been busy, but yes mom, I'm still counting my blessings....

44. the snowfall that's on its way!
45. Claire gaining 4 pounds in a month and finally landing herself on the growth chart!
46. The Bachelor.
47. American Idol
48. Philosophy Advanced Makeup Optional. Sara, I owe you.
49. a week full of playdates!!
50. finding leftover christmas decorations at pottery barn for super cheap
51. hearing claire say, "you my best friend, emma!"
52. friendly's butter crunch ice cream with peanut butter sauce
53. people magazine in my mailbox!
54. rain boots
55. romans 5
56. breakfast at the pop shop!
57. emma's enthusiasm over selling girl scout cookies
58. the ridiculuous amount of cuddles and hugs i get from madeline every day
59. "i miss you" texts from my hubby when he's out of town
60. pushups
61. that i haven't felt lonely (or cried) even once this week :)

37. madeline playing with her bff all afternoon

38. watching the complete joy on the girl's faces as they sled down a hill

39. hearing madeline say, "i love winter!!!" for the first time

40. when claire says "actually"

41. the cheesecake factory

42. breaking a little bit of a sweat running uphill after sledding

43. baking in the early morning while it's still dark outside

twelve

Twelve is my token number. The one I use to describe anything (larger than two or three when it needs to be or smaller than twenty or thirty depending on the situation). Get the picture? For example, if you have more than four kids, you probably have twelve. Or if I want to put into words exactly how young I was when Ryan and I got married....we were twelve. Obviously. So when my mom suggested this week that I look into becoming a real estate agent, my response was that nobody was going to hire me because I look like I'm twelve. To this, her response was, "I've got news for you, but you REALLY can't pass for "twelve" anymore." Sounds logical (after all, I am twenty years past my twelfth birthday and I've birthed three children), unless you know me and know my mom and know that my mom knows that twelve is just a way of me saying that I look young. So, what she was really getting at was that I look old. And it hit me like a ton of bricks....it's like she opened my eyes and I've seen it ever since. I'm OOOOOLLLLLLLDDDD!! I have wrinkles that I never knew existed and thin, saggy skin on my face. I am flat out, clear as day aging and I never knew it. I am bound and determined to invest in every skin care regimen out there and re-twelve-ify myself!!