Mommy: I talked with Uncle Jeff today. Aunt Lisa hasn't had Baby Amaya yet.
Megan: *pause* Well, maybe the tools aren't finished working yet.
Mommy: What?
Megan: Maybe the tools in Aunt Lisa's belly aren't quite finished making Baby Amaya yet. We can wait til they're finished, okay?

Mommy: Uncle Jeff is going to be a daddy pretty soon. Isn't that exciting?
Megan: Well, he can be a daddy, but he's still going to be my Uncle Jeff.

Megan: My daddy over there is the bestest Daddy in the whole of the land.
Mommy: Daddy is a great guy, isn't he?
Megan: Yes. But know what? I call him Jeremy for short. Dad is his long name.

Mommy: I love you, Megan.
Megan: I love you to the moon and back. HA!
Mommy: That's FAR! I love you that much...no more!
Megan: Okay, I love from here to California...which is FARTHER than to the moon.
Mommy: Well, the moon is farther away than California.
Megan: Not where I'm looking from.

Okay, first of all, Connor is growing up SO fast. Geez. He comprehends so well and "speaks" so much that it's hard to remember that he's still a baby.

Lately, it's been heartwarming to watch Megan and Connor's relationship change from "quit annoying me" to "I love you". It's the little things, such as:

sharing a morning snack a the little table, so "Connor feels like a big boy"


Connor offering a little support to his sister while she's in time-out (he just walked right over there and put his head on her lap)


and Big Sister helping Brother "ride" the scooter through the house. He was so proud of himself. She must've walked him around the kitchen 10 times.


And then tonight, out of the blue, Connor really hit the sweet spot. He walked over, picked up "Little" (Megan's special doll), and took it over to her. It's genuine, folks.

Megan's wonderful school had an open house program tonight. She was so excited to get to show us her work and program. She practiced the songs all the way over to the school tonight. You'll have to pardon my lack of decent pictures...I was holding "Mr. I'm-running-a-103-fever-fuss-pants" and trying to work both cameras. Oh yeah, and I was behind 2 very tall grandparents. Geez. Oh, and thank you to Grandma and Gran for coming to her program.

She spotted me.


She got to be the leader, with her friend Anisha, for "Mr. Sun".


Singing her heart out.


Meg's a nut.


Can't believe this girl is SO grown up!

Things are a changin' around here. Rapidly. Seems like that the only consistent thing around here IS change. Hopefully, it's for the better.

In one short 8-day span, I went from working part-time in the office, to working part-time at home, to working full-time in the office.

So yes, it is official - I went back to work full-time. It's rather bittersweet, if you can imagine. It was a tough decision, and I (of course) mulled over the pros and cons of the offer for 3 solid days...complete with tears and deep breaths. But it was an offer we, as a family, couldn't refuse.

Interestingly enough, I have already learned a TON about myself and a TON about some of the relationships/friendships in my life. When I was first approached with the offer, I immediately laughed and maybe even a snort escaped. NO WAY would I ever imagine that I could be successful at this position. But after lots and lots of thought, some deep conversations, and a little leap of faith, I decided to give it a shot.

Before I decided - for sure - to go back, I asked for candid opinions from a few friends and family. I swear I've heard it all...from "What the hell are you thinking?" to "It's about time!" to "Why?" to "You're nutty." to "You'll do great!" to "Lucky!" to "Are you sure?" to "What about the kids?" to "Why can't you just be happy at home?" to "DO IT!" and the list goes on. In all fairness, I asked for honesty, and I got it, but I wasn't quite prepared for what was to come. Ultimately, it was my/our decision, but I took the feedback into consideration. And I also made notes about who I can rely on for an honest opinion and support.

It's weird, but I'm completely okay with my decision. We're all in a transitional stage right now, and will take some time to adjust, but this is right. When I sat down to talk to Megan about it, she was good with it. She told me she was bored with me at home anyway (HA!) and that she wants "to go to school every single day". Connor's the one I'm worried about. I feel bad that he isn't getting the same time with me that Megan got, but I do feel better about the opportunities that we will be able to give him that we couldn't with Megan. Only time will tell.

Mother's Day evening
Megan: So, what's for dinner?
Mommy: Well, do you and Daddy want to fix something for dinner or do you want to go out to eat? I would love it if you cooked...
Megan: *pause* Mom, what's your favorite restaurant?

After school one day
Mommy: How was school today? *silence* What did you talk about at school?
Megan: Indians.
Mommy: Oh yeah, what about Indians?
Megan: Oh, you know...regular Indian stuff.
Mommy: Yep, that makes sense.
Megan: *surprised voice* I made sense? Sweet! *giggle* (and to herself) I made sense. *giggle*

At dinner tonight
Megan: Grandma makes the best potatoes in the entire whole wide world.
Mommy: They are really good!
Megan: Next time Grandma comes over, it's "HOORAY for Grandma" time.

To you and me and all of the other moms out there.

I had a wonderful mother's day. Daddy and the kids let me sleep in until 10:00 a.m. Whoo hoo! Then Megan declared, "You get to do WHATEVER you want to do all day long." I started to change clothes, but she insisted that I stay in my PJ's "to relax". I got to be lazy, scrapbook, and play with the kids. PERFECT.

It's our tradition that the kids give me a plant for our flower garden, and this year I got a "balloon flower plant". It puffs up into a purple balloon shaped bloom and then opens up. Megan is so proud of it and can't wait to "pop the balloon flower" (so I'm not so sure how long it will last). They also surprised me with another gift...actually, I got to open it last Sunday when I got home from my scrapbook retreat because Megan could NOT stand to wait. They got me a necklace. It is a circle with each of our names engraved on it. I absolutely love it. I'll have to take a picture of it, but so far, it just doesn't leave my neck.

Due to a strange turn of events, which I'll discuss sometime in the future, I spent a lot of time today pondering my role as a mother. Do I do everything right? Heavens no, but my intentions are good and my heart is full of love for my kids. All joking aside, as I tend to have to do to get through each day, I am so extremely blessed to have these two absolutely "made for me" children.

We really weren't scheduled to run another race until Memorial Day, but Daddy found a local race that looked fun for the whole family. It was a run and spring fest with lots of activities for kids. We asked Grandma if she'd watch the kiddos while we ran, and we invited Grandpa to run with us.

It was a beautiful, sunny, cool Saturday morning. We literally plucked Connor out of bed to go, but he was in a good mood (thankfully).


The toddler cheering squad. These 3 were everywhere. They had a 50 yard dash for the kids, and Megan ran it like a champ!


Crossing the finish line. Daddy did a good job with the camera...even after he finished the race. Daddy placed 4th in his age group. Impressive!






Grandpa won 1st place in his age group, so we stayed around for the awards. Mike Doocy (Fox 4 sportscaster) was the MC for the event. We talked to him for a while. He's a nice guy.


Good thing we stayed for the awards...look at the smile on Grandpa's face!


Next race: Memorial Day 10K. *sigh*

I've become increasingly impatient with my garden and extremely frustrated with my gardening skills, or lack thereof. I am the most impatient person I know, so who am I to think that I could actually grow something? Oh wait, perhaps I am being too harsh on myself. I can just maintain the strawberry patch, of approximately 50 plants, and harvest at least 50 strawberries 3 times a day. But that's it.

Anyway, there was a patch in the garden where nothing grew from the seeds we planted earlier this spring. Megan and her friend Jaxon were playing in the backyard, so I asked them if they wanted to be gardeners. Of course! Armed with "gardening tools" and leftover seeds, they added new seeds to the garden. They were "expert gardeners" and played so well together. One poked a hole in the ground, the other put the seed (or seeds) in the hole, and the other one covered it up. There was no fighting or arguing; they worked as a team. Heck, their stuff will probably grow into huge, ginormous producing plants. Hope so.





Oh regarding Megan's attire, and for the record, "big t-shirts" are dresses these days. But only for around the house.

Connor loves to read. He brings us books to read, one right after the other. His favorites are, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, I Went Walking, and If You See a Kitten.

Clearly he's heard this one before.


He's really started talking - a lot - within the last week. We may not always know what he's saying, but he sure acts like he does. He just walks up to a person, starts pointing and talking, and then says "YES!", as if he's just completed the conversation. He was flirting and talking to all of the old ladies at Olive Garden today. I had several threaten to take him home with them! He has several new words in his vocabulary: sister, Mr. Lion, yikes, more, and read. Of course they don't necessarily sound like what he means them to sound like, but we recognize them. Also, he finally decided to sign! He signs "more" and "please".

So, for longer than I care to remember, I haven't felt quite like myself. If you've been around me for more than 5 minutes in the past few months, you might've used the following words to describe me: exhausted, moody, short-tempered, irritated, puffy, disconnected, scatter-brained, forgetful, and depressed. You think it was driving you crazy, try living like that! I attributed the behaviors to hormones because, well, I just had a hysterectomy 5 months ago. I knew the current hormone prescription wasn't cutting it but no one would listen to me. My doctor's solution was to just up the current dosage - twice. Clearly it wasn't working, and I actually felt worse.

One of my co-workers found a new hormone replacement option and told me about it. The whole concept of it looked good on paper, but I waited until she tested it out before I even considered it. When she came back with rave reviews, I made my appointment. They "custom design" the hormone according to the patient's blood work, so they tested all of my hormones, etc.

Lo and behold, it was not just hormones. It is thyroid, too! He gave me a prescription for thyroid medicine, and I felt better the next day. And not just better…seriously, like a different person. All of the symptoms that I attributed to low hormones are gone, and I feel like a new woman.

Armed with a hormone pellet and thyroid medicine…watch out world!

(Oh, and I’m only about ¼ of the way through issuing apologies for my behavior over the past however many years…if you’re waiting for one, I’ll get to you soon.)