The mother of all Mother's Days

This Mother’s Day, I was completely and unabashedly spoiled.

I was able to spend the weekend with my own mother, which as one of four siblings I consider that to be the greatest of gifts.  And it goes without saying that Frances and George are in hog heaven when Nana is in town (iPad, iPhone, and extra attention—what’s not to love?).

And then there was this shiny new toy rolling into our driveway on Saturday afternoon:

We finally decided on our minivan and I could not be happier!  No one can accuse Will and me of impulse purchases because we toiled over what minivan best suited us (with the final two choices being the Odyssey and the Sienna) for months.  But ultimately the Honda Odyssey was the best fit for our family and having driven it for the last two days now, I can honestly say I have no idea how we survived without it.  With a tear in his eye, Will generously traded in his eleven-year-old Honda Accord and is cheerfully driving the Toyota Highlander; so our Honda/Toyota ratio has remained intact.  But it was a little sad to say goodbye to the car that has been with us since Will passed the bar, proposed to me, whisked me away in on our wedding night, and drove the children back and forth to school (quite often) before I stopped working.

Because I am the world’s worst negotiator when it comes to personal purchases (and have zero ability to keep a poker’s face), Will bought the van completely on his own and (after nearly 8 hours of paperwork) got us a fantastic deal.  Roof racks and all-weather mats still to come! 

But my absolute favorite Mother’s Day present was this adorable video that Will made from Frances and George:

(direct link to the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDnIT0CywYg&feature=em-upload_owner)

As many pictures I take of the children, I am so thankful that Will remembers to take videos.  Those Minnie Mouse voices will change before I know it and I always want to remember how George talks like he has marbles in his mouth and Frances stumbled over the word “available.”  And PS - you can tell all of this footage was filmed during breakfast because Miss F's hair has yet to be touched by Mother's evil brush.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  And a HUGE thank you to my incredible husband who made this Mother's Day the best one yet!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mother who has always had too much life, love, and laughter to contain in her little body.  Thank you for thirty-six years (and counting!) of being my biggest fan and supporter.  And a very special thank you for giving my daughter her incredible beauty.

Wishing all of my favorite mommies out there a Happy Mother's Day.  Enjoy your special day - you deserve it!

Our week

My apologies for being a little quiet this week.  Another lesson I’m learning as a first-time mother of a school-aged child and a preschooler is … things pick up heavily for us parents as the school year winds down.  Teacher appreciation week, dance recitals, field trips, end-of-the-year socials, end-of-the-year gifts, end-of-the-year guilt for giving the least creative teacher appreciation gifts of the class—the list is endless.  That slow summer schedule is looking better and better these days.  Of course, maybe that’s the idea—to keep us parents so busy the last two months of school we’ll appreciate a school-free 12 weeks enough not to notice that we’re slowly going crazy with ZERO childless hours in the day.  Those teachers; they are nothing if not brilliant.

Here’s a little of the collective chaos that has ensued:

Marshall had a surprise visitor this week.

My brother Henry, his original owner.  I don’t know who misses the other more.

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Frances’s dance concert is this weekend and she had her final dress rehearsal earlier this week.

In what can only be described as a weak moment on my part, I volunteered to be the behind-the-scenes dance parent, so I can only see the show from the stage wings.  But sometimes that is where you get the best pictures.

And sometimes not.

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George helped me take my car to the carwash this morning.

Oh, and my car will soon be known as “Will’s new car” as we’re preparing to get our minivan this weekend (fingers crossed, pretty-please, pretty-please!!).  I figured if Will is getting me a whole vehicle for Mother’s Day the least I can do is pay someone to clean the car he’ll be driving for the foreseeable future.

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Frances somehow rigged Thumbelina equestrian-style on her stuffed horse, Mary.

After studying this for several minutes, I had two thoughts; 1) what in the world did she use to make this; and 2) that’s pretty darn good.

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George the giant.

Seriously, I think he is easily twice the size of every other kid on the playground these days.

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My yoga studio is putting on a demonstration for the Richmond Kickers (our local semi-pro soccer team) next Friday and I was asked to participate.  Here’s our first rehearsal video if you’d like to see where I spend most of my weekend time:

I am second from the left and in the unfortunate position of being between two champion yogis.  Please keep in mind, too, that at nearly 37-years-old I am the grandmother of this group.  But I am so proud of my grandkids—they are an incredible bunch!

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In honor of Mother’s Day, Frances’s school had “Muffins with Mom” this morning.

Or as we like to call it, “Muffins with Mother and George.”

Silly girl!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Because I know I'm not alone on this one

One of these columns summarizes my typical evening perfectly.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  To all the chefs!

Our week

George has been battling some nasty swimmer’s ear for the past ten days.

My docile, obedient wallflower won’t take oral medicine without violently upchucking it, so we’ve had to resort to a round of three antibiotic shots.  Two out of three completed with Monday morning scheduled to be the last (I hope!) painful prick.  As hard and as long as Will works on a daily basis, doctor’s offices with the promises of shots trumps any real estate transaction in a heartbeat.

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Frances’s annual doll clothes washing extravaganza:

Her namesake would be so proud!

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The inchworms are back this year:

Thankfully, George has grown into quite the bug aficionado and takes great pleasure in corralling them up and throwing them over the backyard fence.  And it’s a good thing because all this picture makes me want to do is screech, “eeeewwwwwwww!!!!”

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Will and I had a hot date night out—minivan test driving and an early bird special dinner.

We’re determined to make a decision on the van by the end of this month and I am so very ready.  I’ll keep everyone posted!

Frances and George stayed back and enjoyed their version of heaven:

Gram-E, Mr. Pyles and the i-Pad. 

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Playground love.

Please let them always be friends.

Or at least frenimies. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!  And a happy, happy birthday to my nephew, Ian!

  

One year and one week

It's been that long since we lost our Max.

I'm amazed at how many milestones our family has hit since then--Kindergarten for Frances, preschool for George, and can we really have spent all last summer without our gentle giant roaming around with us in the backyard?

In all honesty, I feel like he's been here the whole time.  Not a day goes by that we don't talk about Max in some way.  Frances always includes him in her family drawings.  And his shadowbox of memorabilia is still standing proud in our main room.

Marshall has settled well into his role of "solo dog."  We're home so much that he's rarely alone and at 12-years-old, he probably needed to slow down a bit anyway.

If I think too much about Max, particularly his last moments of life, I still get upset.  So I just don't do that.  I focus on those five wonderful years we had with him and what we loved most about that little fur ball.  I don't shy away from talking about him with the kids because they still love him, too.  And as we enter into year two without him, Max is no less a part of our sweet family.

We miss you, Max!

Lynchburg in pictures

Somehow it is already May.  I’m not sure exactly where April went, except I do remember spending most of it wishing for warmer, sunnier weather.  So maybe that was April’s solution—to just hand over the reins to May and call it a day.

I do know F, G and I spent our last weekend of April in Lynchburg while Will attended a law firm conference.

Nasty traffic on our drive extending the normally 2 hour trip to about 3 ½ hours.  That new minivan I’m craving (with built-in DVD player) is looking better and better these days!

Post-traffic jam ice cream was in order when we finally arrived at Nana and Pop’s house.

My über talented niece is having some of her artwork displayed at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg for the entire month of May.  Along with my sister, I now see where Frances inherited her artistic abilities.  Proud auntie!

I used to play on this rusted, paint-chipped caterpillar when I was little and I remember how much I loved it, too.  Even with the fancy new equipment in the local park, it’s nice to see this little guy still has his charm.

Marshall found the best place in the house for a nap.  I don’t know if Frank would agree.

We always have at least one dinner at the Mexican restaurant when we visit and this one was no exception.

The cherry trees on my parents’ street were just incredible.  Frances and George played in the “snow” every chance they could.

Apparently, if your middle name is “West” you are required to be tall and lanky.

Marshall standing watch over Frances’s dolls.

Some morning iPad time, which is apparently more comfortable in your Buzz Lightyear undies.

Mommy also had some iPad playtime after the kids went to bed.  I sent this to Will in part (after weeks of a horrendous work schedule) so he would remember what I looked like and to show him that I missed him (in Frances-speak) double a lot.

Kiss, kiss!  And happy Wednesday, everyone!