From Pumpkins to Jack-o-Lanterns

Sunday afternoon the girls carved pumpkins, and Andy and I helped out.  We always have them draw their own face on one, then we help them cut it out.  This year Sonya did her jack-o-lantern completely on her own and it looks pretty awesome. How is she old enough to wield a knife on her own?? The younger two drew their faces.  Lana carved most of hers with a bit of help from me.  Andy just took over the knife from Georgia.  We didn't need any ER visits right before Halloween.  He did follow her drawing though.  So here is how they came out:

Sonya, Lana, and Georgia

In the process of carving

I let Lana take my picture and it's only on here, because it's not that bad!

Displaying their work

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!  Don't forget to check your kids candy for razor blades!  Or was that only when we were kids?

The Big Day

So in my last post I promised to talk about the wedding the girls were in last weekend.  I keep my promises.  Well, at least this time.

After our lovely time on Friday, dealing with Georgia and her not so friendly migraine, I just prayed that Saturday it would be completely gone.  Lucky for me someone heard that prayer and she remained vomit and mostly dizzy free for the day of the wedding.  She did complain about being dizzy twice in the morning, but it went away quickly and after a good breakfast, there were no more issues.

The wedding wasn't until 4:30, so we spent most of the day relaxing in the hotel and I made Georgia take a nap, because I knew it would be a late night.  We left to go to the wedding around 3:30 and the girls were beyond excited.  They looked absolutely adorable in their tutus.  

All dressed up and ready to go!

Since they had never been flower girls before, they weren't exactly sure what to expect. They had practiced during the rehearsal, but that was without an audience.  As we were waiting for the wedding to begin, Lana looked at me and said,

"I'm nervous!"

"You're nervous?" I said.  "Why?"

"I don't know, I just am," she replied.

"Because of all the people that are here, maybe?" I asked, and she nodded yes.

"Don't worry, girlie!  You guys are going to do great!" I assured her.

With the blushing bride

Since the wedding was outside, most people saw the girls as they arrived.  They kept commenting on how adorable they were, and we were asked the "are they twins" question a number of times from people who don't know us.  Especially when they are dressed identical, that is the question I always get.

 The wedding began and I ran to the front to wait for the girls to walk down the aisle, while Andy stayed in the back to make sure they paid attention, and went when they were supposed to. They did a fantastic job walking down the aisle and dropping their petals meticulously.  Then they sat next to me and paid attention to the ceremony.  The ceremony was perfect.  It lasted long enough to be sweet and get the job done, but not to long that Lana had to ask me "is it almost over" more than once.    

Taking their job seriously

Afterward, we had appetizers and cocktails and I let the girls have the ultimate kiddie cocktail, a Shirley Temple.  What kid doesn't love a Shirley Temple?  I would get those things anytime we went to a fancy restaurant when I was young, which in those days was not often.  Unfortunately, McDonalds never sold them.  

Kiddie Cocktails!

Signing the guestbook

Throughout the night they listened to Andy and I and their behavior was fantastic.  The best part about this, was that several people came up to us to comment on adorable they were, how well they did, and most importantly, to me anyway, how extremely well behaved they were.  No need to tell those people that just days before I had threatened to take away Halloween AND Christmas, if they even thought about misbehaving.  Nah, better to just let people think I have the best, always-listen-to-their-parents kind of kids.  Ok, the truth is, when we go to places or events like that, they are usually pretty good.  Usually.  We also received several compliments on how well mannered they were with their "pleases" and "thank yous".  That's right!  We rock this parent thing!  Well, at least we did that day.  It felt nice being told all those great things about your kids.  It almost makes up for those times I've walked around Target dragging a screaming child behind me clinging to the bottom of a shopping cart.

I just loved this picture of Lana, so had to add it!

However, when it came time for dancing and then cake, Lana was starting to lose a little patience.  She was ready to leave, but I reminded her that cake was coming soon.  That of course gave her incentive to hang on.  I forget that sometimes she freaks out  in a crowded situation.  So, I picked her up, held her and danced a bit, waiting for it to be cake time.

After cake, Lana was ready to call it a night, but then we heard the announcement for the bouquet to be thrown.  I took Sonya and Georgia and let them stand at the front of the crowd of eager girls ready to throw down to catch the bouquet.  Courtney tossed it in Sonya's direction.  She jumped and missed it, but it landed directly behind her.  She turned around to grab it, but the girl the bouquet fell in front of  was quicker than Sonya and she snatched it up.

"Ahhh!  Oh well!" I said, grabbing Georgia and reaching for Sonya who was looking down a the place the bouquet had been.  All of a sudden she looked up at me, with tears in her eyes.  Then she started bawling. Oh boy!  Definitely our cue to leave.

"Sonya, why are  you crying, baby?"  I asked.

"I didn't catch iiiiittttt!!!!" She wailed.

"Oh honey," I said trying to comfort her.  "It's okay, you're to young to get married anyway."

She just continued to cry.  I led her outside where Andy was sitting with a friend.  He gave me a questionly look when he noticed Sonya sobbing.

"She's upset she didn't catch the bouquet, " I told him.

"Oh Sonya!"  He said. "Don't be upset about that!  Do you know what it means if you catch the bouquet?"

She shook her head.

"It means  you are the one to get married next!" He informed her.  "You do NOT want that!  Are you ready to get married?"

Her crying started to subside and she shook her head again.

"I know you just wanted the flowers, girlie," I said.  "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunity at other weddings to catch the bouquet."

"Okay," she said sniffing and wiping her eyes.

We started to make the rounds to say goodbye to all of our friends in preparation to leave the festivities. They were scheduled to go on for at least another hour and we would have loved to stay and dance,  but when you have kids...

As we were about to leave I turned around to make sure we had everyone, and Sonya produced the flower bouquet, from nowhere.  Where did she get that?  Did she fleece it from it's rightful winner?
I questioned her, but as it turns out, the extremely sweet girl who grabbed it decided to  give it to Sonya.  She must have seen her crying and felt bad.  I appreciated her generosity giving it to her, but clearly this girl is not a mom.  Now Sonya's going to think all she has to do is cry at a wedding to get what she wants.  GREAT!  Seriously though, I am grateful she did give it to Sonya. It totally made her night.

We left after that and had the girls in bed at the hotel by 10pm.  A VERY late night for them.  But it was the most special of any occasions and they had been so damn good a late night was no biggie.  I was so proud of how well they did and fantastic  they behaved.  It was one of those days where I thought, "Hey look!  We ARE doing this right!"  Those times don't come around to often, so you gotta pat yourself on the back when you can.

It was a great weekend for all of us, because we got to hang out as a family and have fun.  Plus, Andy and I got to hang out and have fun with friends.  It really was the best of both worlds.  Courtney and Mark did an amazing job with every little detail of their wedding and they were both extremely happy and surprisingly relaxed all day.  They are that couple who you know will actually make it.  Something so rare anymore.  I'm so thankful they gave my girls the opportunity to have something to talk about for the rest of their lives, and for giving my entire family an enjoyable memory filled weekend.   I wish them all the best and many happy years to come.  Maybe by the time they have little girls (or boys) of their own, Sonya will be old enough to babysit.  

Congratulations Courtney and Mark!!!

Post wedding tiredness and Sonya with her pity bouquet

Rehearsal Dinner

A few months back my girls were asked to be flower girls in a wedding for a couple of our friends, Courtney and Mark. ( Hi guys!! They are avid readers of this blog and I hope they are enjoying their honeymoon right now.)  The girls were thrilled to be in a wedding and they've been counting down the months, then the weeks.  Two weeks ago, they started counting down the days until this past Saturday.  They couldn't wait.  I was also counting down the weeks and the days for something else to happen.  Then it did.  At 4am on Friday morning, the day we were to drive to Santa Barbara for the wedding rehearsal,  I woke up to Georgia standing next to my bed whining,

"Mooommmyy...I don't feel good.  I'm dizzy!"

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!  SHIT, SHIT, SHIIIIIIT!!!

Yes, this is yet ANOTHER post about that poor kid's migraines.  Sorry. I know I mention it every what- oh 7-9 weeks, but when it disrupts your life like this, it makes for good writing.

She was getting her migraines every seven weeks, like clockwork, for  ten months.  Then, the doctor put her on new medication this summer and the time extended to eight weeks in August.  This time she got it in the ninth week.  Of course it happened to be at the worst time possible.  Why not, right?  It's happened before.

Whenever she comes into my room, and says she's dizzy, I think "maybe this will go away if she sleeps some more."  It never does, but none the less I put her next to me in bed encouraging her to sleep.  She did for a couple hours only to wake up and "frow up" in the bucket.  I tried giving her Benadryl, because her doctor said sometimes that can help the nausea and vertigo.  Unfortunately, that dose of medicine immediately left her body.  So I did the only thing I could do, let her sleep and throw up for the next five hours, while I finished getting us ready to leave for the weekend.

The good news was, the wedding was the next day and hopefully she'd be better by then.  The bad news was, we had a two hour car ride, a wedding rehearsal and dinner to go to that day.

By the time we were supposed to leave she was still getting sick.  So I packed up a Tupperware container and a bucket to make sure puke didn't end up in my van or her carseat.  She slept on and off most of the way up, got sick a couple of times, but by the time we got to the hotel it was almost completely done.  She was acting more like herself and hadn't mentioned being dizzy in a while.  I thought we were out of the woods.  We were good to go!  The worst was over!!  I'm a mom, I should know better.

This migraine thing is constantly changing in her.  Much like a baby's sleep pattern.  Just when you get used to them taking two naps, they decide to move to one.  The migraine does the same thing, just when I think I have it figured out it changes.  It used to be it would last half a day, she would come out of it, but then it would come back the next morning.  The last two times, however, it is bad for half the day.  Then she kinda comes out of it, but gets dizzy on and off the rest of the day.  BUT it is only for ONE day. Which is kinda better.  Except for this day.

We went to the rehearsal and she was fine for most of it.  She learned what she was supposed to do, but toward the end she got dizzy again and I had to hold her until it was time to leave.  Good thing I still had a bucket in the car!  We got back to the hotel and she threw up again.  Then she was immediately better and hungry.  Poor kid kept bringing everything back up that she put in her body.  I gave her some apples, and they stayed down.  It was over... we were good?  I wasn't trusting it.  Stupid sneaky migraine.  By the time we were leaving for the dinner, I knew better than to think this was completely over.  I grabbed a little Ziploc baggie, knowing I couldn't walk around with a bucket at the dinner.  Well,  I guess I could, but people might talk. I stuck the little baggie in my purse.  

Georgia was great for a while.  She scarfed down some pizza and other appetizers.  Except by the time we were to sit down at dinner, her vertigo was back.  I spent most of the dinner walking in and out.  We would go outside to sit and get some air, she would feel better, we would go back inside.  This happened at least three times, once we even went to the bathroom when she claimed she was going to "frow up", but she never got sick.   

 The last time it happened was at the end of dinner.  I told Andy we needed to leave in five minutes, as she sat on my lap with her head on my chest and her eyes closed.  He looked at her and agreed.  Then Courtney and Mark came over to talk to me.  Courtney asked about Georgia, and I told her she  had a migraine all day, which is what she had suspected.  She has suffered from them herself since she was a child, so she recognized the signs.

Then as we were talking, Georgia picked her head up and looked at me with THAT look.  (Fair warning-if you're eating put down that sandwich right about now.)

"Mommy, I gonna frow...."

And then, yup.  She did indeed throw up all over me.  It went down my shirt and pooled in my bra.  I know, super gross.  Unlike the rest of the throw up all day, this was one was for real.  Most of the other times, she had nothing in her stomach so after a while it is just harmless oderless bile.  Not this one!  NOPE!!  She had been eating pizza, so I will just let you imagine what that smell was like.  BLECH!  YUCK! GROSS!  Sorry, sorry sorry!!

Earlier in the night I had taken out the Ziploc baggie I had brought with me out of my purse.  I didn't have any pockets, so at one point I just stuck it inside my bra to have it if  I needed it quickly.  So as she was getting sick on me, I discreetly took the baggie out of my bra, opened it and let her finish getting sick into there.  So at least it wasn't ALL on me.

Courtney tried to help clean me up, Andy ran over and disposed of the baggie o puke and I sat there looking around to see who might have caught the incident.  Most people were already up and out of their seats milling about, so luckily we didn't have a big audience.  But the smell was, well, it was throw up.  So we did the only thing we could do.  We left without saying goodbye to anyone.  We would see them the next day at the wedding, after all, and I promise at that point, nobody would have wanted to come near me anyway. 

On the ride back to the hotel Andy and I were talking about how fun it was having our child throw up at a wedding rehearsal dinner.  Then he looks at me and says,

"Where did the baggie come from??"

I shrugged and said, "My bra."

He looked at me questioningly.

"What?" I said. "I'm a mom!  Always gotta be prepared, baby!"


Fortunately, that was the last time Georgia got sick.   We went back to the hotel and took a shower, and then I got acquainted with Marriott's laundry room.  I was so happy they had one.  I did not want THOSE clothes sitting around all weekend.

Happy ending to this part of the story though, the next day, the wedding day, Georgia claimed to be dizzy only twice in the morning.  However, all her food stayed down and she was great all day.  The wedding was....well, I will wait until the next post to tell you about that.  All I can promise you is that it was a  day entirely throw up free!

A Female Dog

Sonya- "Mommy, what does 'bitch' mean?"

Oh boy.  These are the questions I get when Andy is away for the weekend, as I'm putting them to bed.    It's not like I didn't know where she heard the word.  She MAY have heard it on a certain show that we watch about high school kids who like to sing in a club.  Maybe.  I can't be certain.  Okay I can, but hey they say that word on daytime TV!

Me- "Well first of all, don't say that word to a girl, unless you are prepared to get hit in the face."

Sonya- "Ooookkkaayyy..."

Me- "It has a couple of meanings, actually.  The real meaning is a 'female dog.'"

Sonya- "Oh that's right! Daddy told me that."

Okay my husband MAY have told her what a couple of bad words were and what they mean.  Maybe.  I can't be certain.  Okay I can about that too, but he's reasoning was, tell her what they are and take their power away, and make sure she knows they are not good words to say.  I think it's a good idea, for a kid like Sonya anyway.  It would NOT be a good idea to tell every kid her age these things, but Sonya different.  She understands when she should say things and when she shouldn't.  Lana is not one to tell these words to, because she would be running around the Kindergarten playground shouting them.  

Me- "Yes, well that is the real meaning of it, but somewhere over time the word turned into  something you call a girl or woman when they are not being nice, or you don't like them.  Although, it can also be used jokingly with girls too."  

Sonya- "What do you mean?"

Me- "Well  if I said to one of my friends 'hey bitch what's up?'  I'm not saying it in a mean way, I'm just being silly.  But mostly it's not a nice word to say to a girl and you should NEVER call someone that."

Sonya- "Unless I'm prepared to get hit in the face."

Me- "Exactly!"

See, she listens to me.  For now.  And yes, I'm preparing myself for the day she uses that word in conjunction with me.  

Raising Southern California Girls

Thursday evening I was trying to hurry and get dinner ready so I could get the girls and I to a PTA meeting at the school.  It had been a nice Los Angeles fall day with clouds and even a little rain.  We don't get rain often except in January and February.  It's unheard of during the summer months and rare during the fall.  So my girls aren't really used to it.  As I was rushing around Sonya said to me,

"Why are do we have to hurry?"

"Because we have the PTA meeting in 45 minutes, remember?" I told her.  

"Yeah, but it's raining," she said.

"And...?" I asked.

"Well, are they still going to have the meeting or will it get cancelled?" She asked.

I looked at her confused and asked, "Why on earth would they cancel it?"

"Because it's raining!"

Yes, she seriously said that. 

 Maybe we need to travel back east more than once every two years.

Straight From the Trailer Park

Last weekend I played the part of single parent because Andy went home to Rhode Island for his twenty year high school reunion.  When I go away for a weekend, it's a novelty for him and he has a great time taking the care of the girls alone.  For me, however, it's just one long never ending week.  So I decided to try and be fun mom for the weekend to try and break things up.  I had made exciting plans like ordering out for pizza, visiting and going out to lunch with a friend, and movie night.  I was determined to have excellent times with my girls!  Unfortunately, their fighting, whining, not listening to me combined with my PMS wasn't really contributing to the party.  Then there was Georgia...

Saturday we had plans with my friend, Julian.  I've been friends with her since I moved out here almost sixteen years ago.   She's always lived on the West Side which is at least 45 minutes from Burbank in L.A. traffic. Now she's moved to the valley and is only about fifteen minutes away.  She bought her first house and was excited to show it off to us.  We've been trying to go see her for about a month now, but we are always so damn busy.  So I decided to take the opportunity, while Andy was gone and nothing major was going on, to take the girls and go for a visit.  The plan was to check out her new house then we would all go have lunch after.  

So we were running late getting out of the house on Saturday.  I'd like to say that's an unusual occurrence, but I'm pretty much always late.  I never had this problem until I had three other people to get out of the house along with myself.  I was rushing around yelling orders to get on shoes and get to the car.  After the third shout, they decided to listen to me.  Because really, why should they listen the first time?  They were actually all out, in the van, and buckled by the time I locked the door to the house.  Well, at least they got IN the car quickly.  So off we went.

Fifteen minutes later we pulled up in front of Julian's new place and I told the girls to get out on the passenger side.  Sonya was the first one unbuckled and I was taking off my seatbealt I heard her say,

"Georgia, where are your shoes?"

I whipped my head around to look at Georgia's bare feet, then up at her face as she was giving me her "uh-oh" smile and she said,

"Oooops..."

"Ooops?" I said.  "You didn't put any shoes on?! Georgia!!"

Now, not that I'm using it as an excuse, BUT let's keep in mind, PMS mom without husband help.  I MAY have gotten a tad more mad than I needed to.

"I CAN NOT believe you didn't put shoes on?!  What were you thinking?" I asked the very stupid question to a four year old.  "You are in BIG trouble right now!"  I yelled.

I think part of the reason I was getting so mad was because she wasn't really taking it that seriously. She was laughing about it, up until I told her she was in trouble.  Then she cried.  Then I felt bad.  Shit.

It wouldn't have been a big deal if we weren't planning on going to lunch.  I quickly formed a plan in my head to stop at a Payless and buy a cheap pair of shoes before we went out.  Problem solved.  I guess I didn't need to be so mean.  Oh well.  Anyway,  in we went to see the house.  It was very cute and I'm so proud of my friend for taking the big step to buying her own place.  

As she was showing us the backyard the girls noticed a little inflatable kiddie pool.  Since I was distracted in conversation they decided to take their shoes off, well Sonya and Lana anyway, and stand in the shallow water.

"Please be careful," I said.  "I don't have any extra clothes for anyone."

"Okay!" They agreed.  

I went back to my conversation with my friend until Sonya yelled,

"GEORGIAAAA!!!"

I turned to see her stand up from her fall in the little pool, her entire backside soaked.  SERIOUSLY GEORGIA!!  I got a bit annoyed with her again, but contained it more this time.  Jules was kind enough to allow us to use her dryer and fortunately, I did have an extra pair of underwear for G in my purse.  So while we dried her dress, she had to run around in her underwear.

Then Julian pulled some toys out she has for when he niece comes over.  She and I were chatting in the kitchen when Georgia ran in to show us the new outfit she had found among the toys.  

You can't tell from this picture, but her that tutu is completely see thru.  

Okay, we had a good laugh about that for a bit. I mean the half shirt alone would have done it for me, but that tutu just sent us over the edge.  Plus her running in to us yelling "TA-DA!" was a tad bit adorable.  I just can not stay mad at that kid.  

It was getting late and we needed to get to lunch.  Her dress wasn't completely dry, but damp was better than sopping wet.  Then we were trying to figure out where a Payless was on the way to the restaurant when Julian asked if she really needed shoes.  Huh.  She is four and I can still carry her.  Screw it.  So there I was carrying my damp dressed shoeless Georgia Jackson on my hip in to the diner.  At least it was a diner and not some nicer establishment.  I don't think anyone even noticed her bare feet.  We had an nice, yet uneventful lunch, thank goodness.  Well, except for when I had to take Georgia to the bathroom and made her stand on a toilet seat cover because the floor was super gross.  

In the end it was a great afternoon, despite Georgia's efforts to sidetrack us.  Truthfully, I can't completely blame her for forgetting shoes.  First of all, she's four.  Sometimes that fact gets forgotten because she has two older sisters who can do more.  Second, and this is where it all makes sense, just about every day when we go to pick up her sisters from school she doesn't put on shoes.  We just drive up to the school, pick up the girls and go.  She never gets out of the car.  She always asks when I'm rushing her out the door, "Do I need sthoesh?" and I always tell her  not to worry about it and just get in the car.  So I suppose I have nobody to blame but myself for her forgetting them when she needed them for real.  Her getting wet though, I blame that on Sonya.  What?  I can't be blamed for everything! I had a missing husband and PMS!  That would totally hold up in a court of law.  

We Are Two For Three

When Lana started Kindergarten this year, I was a little nervous about how she would do, as far as her behavior was concerned.  It has been well documented on here, that she tends to be the more difficult of my three.  She seemed to do fine her two years of pre-school, but that was still not all week long.  I was worried that being in school five straight days would eventually lead her to become comfortable with her surroundings to the point of allowing herself to let go like she does at home.  You know, in other words, tantrums and fighting. 

Because there are so many kids in her class, the teacher uses a behavior chart for the kids.  Everyone starts out on green if someone misbehaves they have to change their  card to blue, then yellow, then red.  If you stay on green all day you get a stamp on your hand.  The first week of school Lana came home every day with her hand stamped.  I didn't get too excited at first, after all the novelty was bound to wear off.  However, after a couple weeks of staying on green all day, I thought perhaps she would be okay in school.  Then I went to her classroom to volunteer and watched first hand her behaving as one of the best kids in the class.  HOW?  How was she SO good at school, yet at home could be such a pain in the ass, not listen to one word I say, while leaving scratch marks on her baby sisters arm??  It seemed I had an entirely different kid than the one I saw at school. 

Then, a couple weeks ago we received a letter in the mail from the school informing us that Lana would be receiving a Star Student award at school.  I read it twice to make sure I had the right child, but it did indeed say Lana.  Yes, Lana!!  Those of you who have been reading this blog from the beginning might remember that Sonya also got a Star Student award in Kindergarten.    They give out different awards like "Enormous Effort", "Academic Achievement", or the one Sonya had been given, "Positive Peace Builder."  The letter didn't mention which one Lana would be awarded with so I would just have to go and find out.

The school always keeps the awards a secret  from the kids until the presentation. This way they don't know they are getting an award. Then they get to the auditorium for the ceremony, spot their parents and know something is up.  Lana, however, suspected nothing, because Friday was my day for volunteering in her class, so I was already there.  Andy, unfortunately, was on a plane to Rhode Island for his High School reunion, so sadly he missed it.  

Lana sat in her seat and clapped and cheered for the other kids getting their awards, unsuspecting.  Then last, but certainly not least, her name was called.  And wouldn't you know, she got "Positive Peace Builder" just as her sister had three years before.  Lana! A peace builder!  Who would have thought?  Certainly not me.  She was definitely surprised and stood next to the other kids holding up her award with a smile about five miles wide.  

I was so proud of her and how far she has come, even in the past year.  The truth is, she still has some issues at home, but she is so much better than she used to be.  The tantrums aren't as frequent anymore. She can be reasoned with more often, and to be honest, she listens better than her sisters most days.  Although she still has her moments. You know, in places like Disneyland.  But hey it's okay to lose it every now and then though.  Can't say I don't do the same.  (Especially when my husband goes away for the weekend when I'm PMSing and my daughter forgets to put shoes on for a lunch out and I get mad than necessary about it.  But that's a story for another day.)  

So, now that I have not one, but TWO kids who were awarded with being Peace Builders at school, it begs the question; why the hell is there still fighting on an hourly basis in my house?? 

So proud of herself!

Red, Red Wine

Every time a family member or friend has a birthday and I send them a card and I have the girls sign it too.  They always draw some pictures of their own inside the card of girly things like hearts, rainbows or perhaps flowers.  Sometimes Sonya will switch it up if someone's birthday is around a holiday. October birthdays might have  pumpkins, or if you have a birthday in March you might see some Shamrocks in your card.   My sister, Beth, celebrated her birthday last Thursday and I had to wait until she received her card before I shared what my oldest daughter drew on the inside...

She's quite the artist that one.  Not sure what holiday she thinks Beth's birthday is near. I know this picture makes it seem otherwise, but I SWEAR I don't drink wine every day.  Only the days that I have to take care of three kids.

21 With 19 Years of Experience

Okay I know I'm a little late on this one.  Friday my friend, Melinda, celebrated her big 4-0 birthday.    I felt I had to give her a shout out on here  since she's such a huge part of our lives.  What with all the free babysitting she provides, taking us to Disneyland, being Georgia's Godmother, plus she's a pretty great friend.  We celebrated her birthday at my house on Saturday night with party a few of us threw for her.  It appeared she had a good time, which of course was what we intended.  I think turning 40 can be hard for a lot of us.  I know it probably will be for me. We wanted her to know how loved and appreciated she was and to remember -40 shmorty!  We can still party like a 21 year old!  Well, at least we think we can until the hangover lasts for two days and we discover that we can not.  Still, 40 isn't THAT old these days, right?  Unless you ask a kid under 10.  

The day of Melinda's birthday I had the girls sign a card for her.  The front of it had the number 40 on it.  Georgia, who recognizes her letters and most numbers, saw something different.  

"Mom?  How old is Mewinda gonna be?  Three four or someping??" She asked confused, not recognizing the number.

"No, baby.  That's a 40.  She's going to be 40, " I explained.

Her eyes widened with surprise and she said, "OH-sheesh!  WOW!   Dat's  A LOT!!"  

Sorry Melinda!  I don't think it's that old, but then again  I will be there in a year a half myself.  I suppose to a four year old though, "dat is a lot!"  Especially one who thinks I'm 26.

Hope you had a very Happy Birthday Melinda.  Thanks for always being there for me and my family.  We love you!