Train potty

I miss blogging and am craving an outlet for my rambling, you guys. Life updates, stream of consciousness, a way to get all of the thoughts out of my head and into semi-cohesive sentences....I miss it all. So please oblige me as I type away without a real topic.

I've been blogging at this domain since 2007. For nine years this corner of the internet has been mine, and it began as a place for a newlywed in a new state to update friends and family on life happenings. In those nine years I've changed as have my posts. There have been new jobs, three children, a new house, thoughts on motherhood, finding a balance with all of the roles I hold, and a million other stories that I enjoy over-sharing with strangers. I love the feedback I get from my readers. I feel a strong sense of 'I totally get it, I'm going through that, too,' with you guys. Blogging is certainly not for everyone and yes, it's sort of 'out' compared to all of the other social media outlets these days. Probably 90% of my blog friends are no longer blogging at this point. There are plenty of big wigs out there, with beautifully groomed photos and helpful posts, still utilizing their blogs for a specific business purpose. But the average 'let me tell you about my life' blogs seem to be dwindling if not extinct. I am basically a geriatric blogger at this point, but I'm owning it and moving forward in my archaic state.

I am not tapping out from my blog days just yet. I certainly don't feel the pressure to post every day or even every week, which is freeing and fits in much better with my other responsibilities. But I want to mention the fact that I still value this space and hope to write more often.

Life is good lately. It's wild and hectic and ear-piercingly loud, but it's good. I've been feeling antsy at my job, after being there for five years. I'm not sure what the next step is with my career but I feel like I can offer more than what I'm doing currently. I just don't want to lose my flexibility and I don't want to work full time....so there's that. ;)

We are talking a lot about building an addition onto our house, so much of my days at home are spent calling and emailing contractors, architects, banks, loan officers, etc. It's super exciting and also terrifying.

Nate is on track to launch his own business, finding his passion in his career. He's already dropped his hours at his primary job to make room for his side gig that will hopefully become the main gig. His focus will be on golf, and specifically Physical Therapy for golfers (but also non-golfers, can't be too exclusive). He really wants to make golf for kids a huge thing in our area, so Juniors development will be a main goal. I am so stinking excited for him and of course a little nervous because starting a business is a total leap of faith. I have faith in Nate though, he is truly one of the best Physical Therapists in our area and his patients are obsessed with him----a really great start. Shameless plug: if you are local and know anyone who loves to play golf, is injured, or wants to improve their game you should absolutely check out Pure Golf Performance. The website is a work in progress and I'm attempting to be their social media manager, so any support would be much appreciated. (End of plug).

The kids are getting so freaking big it's just disgusting. And awesome. But it still makes me a little panicky when they keep growing out of their pants in a single season. Truman is literally up to my chest. Cecelia is 95% legs. Porter is 0% baby and 100% two year old boy. See, this would be a nice topic to divide up into separate blog posts, but for now I'm just going to show you some of the DIY photoshoot I did for our Christmas cards. I'm pretty stinking proud of how the images turned out. Top secret tip: bribing them with Halloween candy still works. Capitalizing on nice sunshine at 11am in our backyard, along with some new semi-dressy outfits (thank you, Hanna Andersson), I asked them to take a few pictures with me and they totally knew there would be a sugary reward to follow. We didn't do professional family pictures this year but I'm confident one of these will be just fine for Christmas cards. To show that Nate and I still exist, I'll probably slap a family selfie on the back and call it a win. But these three kids? Showstoppers. I'm throwing it back to 2013 and asking for votes on the best photo for our cards, please!

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Tough call, right?

There are more words to share on the subject of life, but a certain Junior Kindergartener is getting out of school soon. And a certain two year old is stripping down in the corner and might need a diaper change before we go. It's currently 39 degrees and windy outside, which means multiple layers of winter gear and an extra 10 minutes with every excursion. Better be on my way, but it was nice to chat with you again.

I am so excited.

Breathless.

Giddy.

The start to this year has been so stressful. But things are looking up.

The Husband is having surgery this week...Valentine's Day to be specific. The cat is NOT dying and is responding to his new medication. Yay.  Starman is off of his oxygen and back to being his crazy, spunky, into-everything self. I have a fancy new washing machine, new brakes and a new outlook on living moment to moment.

And....I am going to the ball.

The Husband was blessed with an invitation to his company's blowout 50 year celebration. It is a formal extravaganza at a downtown hotel and I feel like I am going to prom all over again. Who cares if it is amazing or lame, it is a chance to go to "the ball" with someone I love, without the kids and dress up like Cinderella. I feel pretty just thinking about it.

Recently one of my friends had the good fortune of being able to be photographed in one of the Travelling Red dresses from The Bloggess (If you would like to read about that fabulous project you can do it here). The point is to feel pretty, feel empowered, to realize no matter what, you really can own your own gorgeousness. It is the bold act of celebrating oneself and I feel like this event is my own chance to do just that.

I have spent the last two weeks painstakingly preparing for my "outfit." Just like we did in high school for prom, I spent time searching for "the perfect dress." And low and behold, I found it at a second hand store for a mere $35. Score one for the budget. Next I had to have the perfect shoes. With my extraordinary luck that day, I found them in the same store as my dress, $200 shoes for a mere $25 and the soles still looked brand new! The score now was Budget 2, Spending 0! Yay!

Now, the next step was jewelry. I lucked out in this department because while having a fantastic Mommies-Night-In the ladies I had over asked if they could see the dress. I might have dissented, but two cocktails in (which is pretty much hammered for this light weight) and I beat it upstairs and descended down the stairs like Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Like the good friends that they are, they gushed over my dress and then had me model some jewelry. We decided on a vintage piece that belonged to my grandmother.

Now I had a dress, shoes, jewelry and an overall style. The logical next step was to start considering hairstyles. My dress has a vintage style, which will be emphasized with the vintage jewelry, so of course I need a vintage hair style. I have in mind Greta Garbo, Judy Garland or Ginger Rogers. Something classic, loose and reminiscent.

As in any preparation for the big event, doing one's hair the day of is a terribly bad idea, so I have been experimenting with finger waves, victory curls, classic up-dos and other movie star pin-up styles. I am certain the ladies outside the elementary school are starting to think I have lost my mind showing up in strange hair-dos every day at pick up, but I have to make a decision soon. The party is a mere two weeks away.

Last will be the nails, loosing five pounds and self-prescribed mani-pedis. All in the name of looking fabulous. Can you tell I am excited?

I am excited to dress up and look like  a princess (a joy that really shouldn't be relegated only to the under 12 set)
I am excited to get to go to a surrogate prom with my husband who is the best husband EVER
I am excited to escape the house and the kids for a real date
I am excited to kick back and relax after a seriously stressful start to 2013

I am excited to spend the night looking fabulous. The fact is, it won't matter whether there are girls there with prettier dresses, or slimmer figures or more expensive bling. It won't matter if their dates are better looking, or their positions in the company are higher. No, the only thing that will matter is that The Husband will be there looking dapper and he will only have eyes for me. And when I dance with my prince, all that will matter will be that Cinderella made it to the ball and she can take a magical moment to truly enjoy her happily ever after.

Update 2/23: We made it. There wasn't any music and we didn't dance, but we did have a fantastic time and caught up with old friends. I changed up my style a bit to modernize the vintage, but here is a picture of me in the dress that stole my heart.

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How is this possible? Only-already four years old? HOW, I ask you, blogland?

Comparisons make me happy you know: me and my girl on her birthday each year <3


I struggle to capture all of my children's personality on this blog, but Cecelia takes the cake when it comes to an indescribable spirit, a uniqueness that can't be contained by labels or words or stories. She's our fighter, our rainbow baby, our feisty daughter, our emotional rollercoaster, our genuine sweetheart that keeps us guessing. And yes, she is absolutely stunning, too. Thankfully she has a lot more going for her than 'just' her looks but wow, she really takes my breath away with her big blue eyes, toothy smile, and those curls.


Cecelia embodies everything that represents childhood, the way it should be: innocence, playfulness, curiosity, and sometimes testing boundaries. She hates to get her face wet and is petrified of thunder. But she's fearless when it comes to trying new foods, going places without me, and climbing/running/jumping. She loved going to Sunday School this year and did not show one ounce of shyness or sadness when I'd leave her there. She'd simply wave goodbye to me with a big grin and get started on a project. She'd ask to go to Sunday School each week, when I know Truman required me to sit inside of his classroom for the first week or two when he started at age three.

I was also really nervous about Truman starting Junior Kindergarten when he turned four. But Cecelia? She is going to rock it's face off. She's ready, much more so than I'm ready to let her go this fall. But perspective teaches me that her first year in school is really just 2.5 hours every day, and it will go by in a blink. It still boggles my mind to think that my little girl is ready to go to Truman's school each morning. Three separate trips to school each day will be super fun on my end (drop off both kids at 8:20, pick CC up at 10:55, pick Truman up at 3:20) but STILL. Two kids in school this fall. Holy crap.


Sister is a great sleeper, although she has officially dropped her nap in the past four months. Dropping the nap means her bedtime is easy peasy and she passes out within minutes around 7:30-8pm, just like Truman. They still love sharing a room and I don't see that changing anytime soon. When their Tot Clock turns yellow at 7am, they both have usually been awake for a good 15 minutes, but they don't dare come out of their room until then. Sometimes T and C will fight about who gets to open the door, who walks down the stairs first, etc. Oh, those two for SURE like to push each other's buttons. But I also think sharing a room is a huge bonus for Cecelia, especially. She will likely get her own bedroom someday, and maybe the boys will share----but for now she really enjoys being with her big brother.


CC is also our best eater, by far. She loves to eat salad (off my plate), raw veggies (cucumbers are her favorite), and pretty much any meat (preferably off my plate). She loves to sip my La Croix and begs to chew gum almost daily. Truman has had gum maybe five times ever, and Cecelia possibly twice, but she knows how to ask the same question repeatedly hoping for a different answer each time.

For being such a great eater, she is still a string bean! I'm not sure of her stats, her four year appointment (with shots, yikes!) is this week, but I'm guessing she is in the 90th percentile for height and 25th for weight. I know she is not even close to the forty pound mark needed for a booster seat, so that five point harness will be around for awhile longer. She might be around thirty-five pounds and....super tall. She wears mostly 4T clothes but sometimes the pants are way too baggy in the waist, so we drop to 3Ts in pants but then they are high waters. Thank goodness for warmer weather with shorts and dresses! Her feet are a size 9-10 and she has more pairs of shoes than the boys combined;)


I honestly have not worked on writing the alphabet or numbers with Cecelia at ALL, compared to how much I practiced with Truman. And yet, she somehow can write her name with most of the correct sequencing and even draws stick figures and other random shapes without prompting. Truman was never into coloring before Junior Kindergarten, but Cecelia loves it!  I do not know how high she can count or anything like that because, well, second child syndrome. But I think she is a pretty smart cookie regardless!


Other things she loves: chapsticks, baby dolls, nail polish, shoes, skirts that twirl, glitter, potty talk, and riding her bike or scooter. She loved dance class and gymnastics, really hated soccer. Taking a family walk around the block might be one of her favorite activities of all time, and she frequently tells me, 'I love everyone in our family so much.' The feeling is very much mutual around here as Cecelia's mood dictates our day, it seems. But as I just told Nate the other day, I do think the emotional meltdowns are spacing out quite a bit lately and perhaps age four will be MUCH easier on us than ages two and three were with this little lady. She seems to pull through from a low moment quicker than she could last year, but there are still PLENTY of times when she can't deal and needs a break from everything (i.e. a time to rest in her bedroom, which usually means she is screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time but there really isn't another way to exorcise those demons).

On the flip side, when Cecelia is happy she is REALLY REALLY happy. Showering us with affection, and love, and giggles----it doesn't get much better than a happy Cecelia.


She says a lot of things that really need to be documented into eternity on the internet, but I forget so many of them that it's a shame. Some that I posted on Facebook...




Cecelia at bedtime: "Mommy, do you know how much I love you? I love you like polar bears love their mommies." 

She also regularly tells me that she loves me soooooooooo much, and that 'You're my best mommy ever.'  I never ever want to forget how many times she will tell me this in a day. Probably at least three times every day she tells me she loves me, and the most random times. Kind of like when Truman used to randomly declare me as his 'best friend', this is something that already makes my heart hurt for the time when she stops telling me this! (Just like Truman never tells me I'm his best friend anymore, wahhhhhhh). 


Another one I posted in the winter:
Walking home in the 3 degree weather, after dropping Truman at school: Cecelia--> "Porter, when we get home I'm going to give you some Chapstick because you be so hayve. (Behave)."

Cecelia loves her days with Papa so much. They have really found a nice groove together and my favorite day was when I came home to Tony with painted fingernails. Because obviously, Cecelia wanted to paint his nails and he couldn't say 'no'. That was a first for him but probably not his last! Understatement of the year: we are so blessed to have Tony in our lives. 


Did I mention that my mom made a flower girl dress for Cecelia to wear to Nate's brother's wedding in July? I DIE.




She spontaneously hugged my mom after trying the dress on for the first time. Genuine gratitude, right there.


Also a big fan of her light up princess dress my mom made a few years ago. This child is 100% girl, you guys.


A drawing of our family, 'And everyone is going potty here.' She even got the colors right with the gender of each!


Sometimes Cecelia reminds me that she isn't actually fourteen, and instead just turned four. Like when she asks me to carry her up the stairs.


But really. This face.


We had a small-ish BBQ birthday party for Cecelia on her actual birthday this year. It sort of felt rushed because Nate and I were just getting back from our San Diego trip and I hadn't even bought our girl a single gift until a few days before her birthday. But we did get her a Minnie Mouse watch, some pink Ray Bans, an Ariel tee shirt, Disney princess flip flops, and chapstick. She woke up to helium balloons all around our house on her birthday morning (which promptly dropped to the ground before her party, hours later), she picked cinnamon rolls for her breakfast, and then counted down until her party. I made her a 'candy cake' this year, inspired by the cake my mom made for me at my eighth birthday. Cecelia freaking loves sugar and has even asked Lois for a spoonful of sugar to eat when she hungry. So I knew a homemade cake with candy on top would be her heaven and sure enough, she devoured it (all of the kids did!).

CC wanted to wear her birthday crown all day and had such a blast with her friends. She had requested s'mores, so we did that at the end of the night. The accidental theme of the party turned out to be SUGAR.




Close up of the sugary delight:




Like any four year old, Cecelia freaking loves to open presents. She also wanted to play with a few of them immediately while her buddies all played in the backyard.


She perked back up for this, one of her favorite treats ever:


This big girl lights up our world!! She is now using Truman's old bike since he got a new one, still using training wheels but I predict she will ride without the trainers way before Truman ever did.


She's a hoot in her new sunglasses.


Nailed the family picture!!!


I don't know what else I can share about our girl, but I highly recommend you watch this video of her birthday interview. This is the only way you can get to know the type of entertainment that Cecelia brings to the table. I mean, listen to what she wanted for her birthday this year!!

Her fourth year interview:

Cecelia's four year old interview from Julia H. on Vimeo.

I haven't come close to adequately describing our girl, but those of you who've read my blog for awhile know how much we wanted her. She is so celebrated and so very loved. And she is FOUR! I can't imagine life without our Cecelia, and on this birthday especially, I want to absorb the enormity of this blessing. Another year with Cecelia, and oh, what a ride.

We love you, big girl!!!
xoxo
Mommy