I'm Mollie.

I'm not even 40 years old.
But my visionary husband and my loyal sister got together and gathered loving souls to send me wishes, poems, pictures, videos, flowers, cards and amazingness for the 40 days UNTIL I turn 40.

Tonight was Yoga in Railroad Park with a picnic to follow.
Ah-Maz-Ing.

I am so filled with gratitude that my insides are singing.




Synovia had these awesome prompts like, "Reach up into your LIFE!"  and, "Look behind you at all the things you want to avoid." and, "Shake your head left and right and say NO to all that you don't want to let in."

Yes, people.


 If you are afraid of turning 40 and want to act like it hasn't been coming all along then WAH WAH YOU BABY this is my face for you:



If you want to get down to the Nitty-Gritty about all that is in front of you, then this is my face for you:


Bring it sisters (and brothers).
Let's do this.
Every day we are getting there.
Let's write this story, celebrate with some yoga and a picnic and do this thing.

Happy birthday to ALL of you!!!!

My middle child is 10 years old today. Believe it.

10 Facts, 10 Photos:

1. She has no need for a clock or calendar, because isn't Time just beautiful? Let's just love it and be in it. We will show up when we need to. Or something.



2. Her version of order involves motion and maybe a detour through the kitchen to conduct an experiment involving the blender and some water and cinnamon. And maybe some leaves. Whatever.



3. Her voice can mimic anything she hears. It's amazing.



4. When stressed, she escapes into scenarios that involve dolphins, unicorns and sometimes rainbows.



5. She makes charts that match different hairstyles with different earrings and options of color schemes of clothing.



6. When she grows up, she has said she wants to be a fashion designer, a mom, a teacher, an artist, a poet, a singer, someone who helps others shop and put outfits together, a painter. She is already all of those things.



7. Her favorite foods are all in the brown-orange-yellow spectrum of the color wheel: Macaroni-n-cheese, chicken fingers, butter noodles, plain hamburgers, bread. Her mother is freaking out.



8. She is the perfect candidate for everything Disney channel and has figured out how to channel its relentless information through any mobile device. Scary.




9. She wrote 5 screenplays this summer, fit with suitcases of props labeled for each movie, and is working on learning the intricacies of translating that art between iPhone, Movie Maker, iMovie, Google docs, You Tube, the actual written word with a pen on paper, and archaic acting with no microphones using improv lines.



10. This amazing child of JOY came into this world petite and quiet and has grown into her large spirit of love and truth, amazed by beauty and confused by pain. She teaches us every. single. day.
There is so much gratitude in my heart, in this house, in the yard, in the trees, in the sky, in the clouds alongside the biggest dreams she could dream alongside those clouds, for her, for Her, for HER - this amazing beautiful girl.




Happy Birthday.

...and if that girl didn't get a KITTEN from her little friend Camdyn.





We like to rock and sing to him in the morning before going to school. That is one patient kitty...

She wanted a party decked out in zebra stripes and cheetah print. Of course she did.


She also wanted a tea party. With Diet Coke and Sprite instead of tea...that modern fashionista princess.


Svea loves to make her own invitations. The problem is time management. So in the weeks before the party, she made one invitation...that was never mailed.  Not sure why she chose Sponge Bob, when I thought the theme was zebras and cheetahs. But I'm just the Mom; what do I know??


There was, of course, a manicure station:


And a little bit of dressing up:


The tea party:


Sweet cousins:


A pull-up bar.  Whaaa? Seriously.  Svea asked Pops to bring his portable pull-up bar and it was way more popular than karaoke and manicures.

Birthday girl singing karaoke:



Svea asked at the beginning of the summer if we could re-do her room for her birthday (this girl plans ALL YEAR for her event). Sticking with her cheetah and zebra print theme, she wanted a cheetah print wall, a zebra print desk chair, a new bed configuration, and more.  So here is our process:



Whew.