Hoppy Easter...

From Somebunny(s) Who Love Y'all.

Hope it's sweet.

No, literally... Sugar filled and chocolate coated!

You Have Arrived...

RyGar and I are in the islands.

Doesn't that sound dreamy?

I'm probably going to throw that out as a code word for visiting the "restroom" or something equally mundane from here on out, because to say, "Excuse me I've got to go visit the islands" beats the living daylights out of "I've gotta go pee."

Anywho.  Here we are celebrating our TEN year anniversary just shy of three years late.  One can only imagine what led to this three year delay, eh?  And we miss those three little reasons terribly, but we know they're in the best of hands and they'll be oh so much better off after their parents fill their canteens up with some love juice served paradise style... which means it will arrive beach side, chilled, in a coconut, with a tiny umbrella.  And I Looooooovvvve it!

And not to underscore the point too much, but I feel good about our lovers vacay with just a sprinkling of guilt.  Oh, who am I kidding, the Mama guilt is crashing over me wave upon wave...  But soon the last morsels of doubt about our trip will be erased, because last night the complimentary GPS in our rental car announced upon reaching our destination, "You have arrived."

{Earmuffs please, Mamas & Grandmas & All Others with G-rated vocabs -- here comes a Real Humdinger...}

Bitch knows what she's talkin' about.  :)

More to come, but for now, "We're in the Islands."

xoxo 

Packing it All In...

Am I crazy or does planning for a vacation with only a part of your family leave you feeling... um, doomsday-ish?  Seriously, you should see the exorbitant number of emails I have sent off to family members that will be shuttling kiddos from hither to dither and hosting sleep overs and making meals and kissing ouchies, while I attempt to relax in the rays of the sun with my lova boy.  It would make you wonder if I was planning my own demise on this trip to paradise.  True story.

  

The thing is, you never plan to make your exit.  Heck, I accepted long ago you can plan, plan & plan some more, but you are NOT in control.  What I do know, is I want a contingency plan "just in case".  And saying contingency plan and having my eyes water as I type it, THAT, right there, makes me a mama.  It's my job to assure these tiny, perfect creatures who I skirt under my wings when the wind howls, that everything will be just fine. That Mommy & Daddy will always come back.  That their stays with cousins and Grandparents will be nothing but fun.  And it's also my job to answer all the "what ifs" and "as a precaution" concerns that run through my head as I pack up my snorkeling gear. 

Yep, Hold the Phone Sista... I am a mother.

There is no more "me" or even "me & him".  There is a whole group of us... a family  And I still remember every image of the pink peaceful newborn things that are the "hims" in my life that made us so.  They are the images I go back to when life gets rough and when life feels glorious.  They are the images I let my mind flash to when parenting is hard and I don't have the answers and they are less tiny and I am not the only thing they need for survival.  And these same images remind me how quickly and deeply that love for my "hims" began, and I find perspective and strength hidden in those memories.

I am not the willowy stick-legged teenager whose hips are unfamiliar with childbirth any more.  And though that girl was carefree & happy, this girl woman is completely and utterly in love with motherhood & life; and she wouldn't trade the worries and gray hairs (yep, they have arrived) for a minute.  I am a mother with a partner in life whom I adore.  And that is my identity forevermore.  It is intertwined with thoughts of feeling capable & strong and vulnerable & clouded.  And right now, it makes leaving for a vacation both disconcerting and totally elating.

I'm fairly certain I'll snap right on out of this little mama-guilt induced cyclone of over-planning once I see my first palm tree swaying in the island breeze...  {do you kind of want to give me a high five upside the head with the chair for painting that image?  I get it.  I will accept your cyber "high fives".}  Buuuuttt... for now, let there be worry lines along with a suitcase full of swimsuits & sundresses AND fifteen pages of schedules & itineraries for my little littles and all who will be caring for them.

Whew  :)

Restaurant Style...

Our Saturday night produced an impromptu dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. RyGar is practical and resourceful, and whenever I'm looking for excuses to go out to eat ("We don't have anything in our refrigerator," a.k.a. "I don't feel like cooking"), he magically finds leftovers or some brilliant recipe that requires only flour and water.

I love going out to eat... to the simplest of places. I love the vibe of our family in a booth, the cheap suckers they bring my kids, that we're-on-vacation feeling that comes with having someone bring you baskets of chips and salsa and a refill of good nectar. 

We had a long "flying solo" week turned weekend... me and the kids (sometimes me .vs. the kids and perhaps a bonus incident with crayons and walls?) and RyGar and his laptop,  sprinkled with some travel as he churned out two week's worth of pre-vacay work in a week's worth of time. 

So, Saturday night, when Ryan actually proposed on his own that we go straight from late afternoon drive to restaurant? I wanted to marry him all over again.  I mean, that boy... or should I say, this girl?  I am that girl that la-la-la-loves her husband a dreadful amount; But that boy paying for my dinner and the folks that clean up our disaster?

Be still my beating heart.  

Cap it all off with a Red Box & kids in bed as the sun is setting over my stumpy little tulip greens who are embedded in patchy snow and I daresay I am "livin' the dream" y'all. 

As are they...

And I'm guessing they're of the sweet variety - those dreams...

  

 This peek into the magically mundane brought to you by Mr & Mrs. Fancy Pants & Co.  And, not that I'm trying to boss you around or anything, but you should totally try this formula... Afternoon Drive + Restaurant + Red Box.  
Guaranteed Victory right there, my friends.  :)

Little Man Spice - A Continuation...

This is little naughty posing according to all his fitting nicknames for his 18-Month milestone. 

 I almost forgot to do it.  Because what people don't tell you when you start to bring darling little people into the world is that you'll totally over achieve in the documenting of life for that first baby.  And you'll want to keep it all fair and equal for that second baby (especially if he trails behind by a mere nine months).  And then in your delirious third baby state, you might forget a few little steps.  And then you'll be whining to your husband about what a loser you are and thinking this "revealing your shortcomings" convo will develop into a bonding moment between the two of you, but you didn't spell that out to him so he totally won't get it and he'll turn on Sports Center to clear his head.  And you'll walk away thinking, "By George, Pull Yourself Out of This Woman and Book a Photo Shoot, Already!"

  

Then you'll have to exert every bit of control and will power you can muster to not post all one hundred and eleven shots of this little Ace Ventura because your heart will burst when they hand over those images etched in pixels to memorialize the day your last baby turned Eighteen Months and entered the world of toddler hood... officially.

Oh Acey.

Ace a' Spades.

Acers.

Ace-a-Mundo.

Acey-Boo.

I must say.  You is one Spectacularly Adorable Toddler, my friend.

And to quote a cinematic great, "You're killin' me Smalls..."

or Ace Face.

Whichever you prefer.

Little Naughty Turns 18 Months...

Little Naughty...

As he's been lately -- is 18 Months old today.

And did you know 18 months is the official "flood gates open" to the terrible twos and thunderous threes at our house?  Well, it is... oh, the change that is brought on by this magical age.  :)

Ace a' Spades has such an interesting view of the world...

He has never once paused and thought, "I wonder if I can do this."  He just watches his little buddies and trails along after them like it ain't no thang.

He will never remember bathing alone... although it does, on a very rare occasion, happen.

And it is kind of magical.

He thinks he is the cleverest little boy on the planet.

And he might be right...

His naughty intuitions are ahead of schedule, of this I am certain.  

 He knows far too much about trouble... {where would he ever learn this stuff?}

And if ever there was something that trumped his advanced knowledge of "Capital T-rubble", it would be pretending he doesn't know a bit about it. 

I mean... the apathy is astounding.

On the flip side, our Acers is the snuggliest of all our babies.  Hand him a book and he is yours for as long as you'll let him flip and flip and flip through the pages.

Pick him up and that little noggin' gets laid right there in the sweet spot - the crook of your neck - for a silent snuggle.

He INITIATES hugs and will grab you from behind and make the "mmm-wa" sound of a kiss.  It's a miracle, I tell you, that I'm not chasing another baby boy around begging for smooshies.

For his half birthday wish, I wished he would stay 18 months and a little bit naughty forever.



And it better come true.

Or I'll be forced to say good night and good bye to the days of counting his age by months...
All too soon.



Love you little man. 

Little Faces... Goin' Places...

Mostly pictures and few words today.

Because I'm just so taken with these sweet little faces.

Which, granted, sounds superfluously cheesy... But I mean it whole heartedly.

Life's been lobbing me these warm fuzzies lately and I just feel incredibly blessed.

{Mischievous Grin.  He OWNS It.  Trademark, Kaelster.}

{Jock Pose.  No Really, There is a Ball Tucked Under his Arm.
And a ceiling fan above his head, but whose counting...}

{Smack in the Middle of Dissertation Number 5039.  One of my Favorites.}

They've been so big and busy lately while the sun has been shining and spring has been flirting.

It makes me realize that another season has nearly passed & they've completely evolved yet again whether I like it or not.

It's as if we burrowed in all winter long and when we emerged their little eyes blinked and adjusted to the sun and then they trudged off into the world, by order of height, a la the Von Trappe family, to show it their heads full of new knowledge...

{And Soul}

{And Insight}

{And depth}

And my cup runneth over.
Like serious leakage.
Like turn the faucet off this girl is gonna drown in a flood of love.

[END - Cheese Fest]

For Now.