Finger paints and friends

I was just complaining to a friend today that my husband has hijacked all of the computer-esque devices in our home to "play" with Linux. He's driving me crazy (and severely interrupting my blog life), but that's ok. Why, you ask? Because of days like today.

We had six of our very best friends over today (in alphabetical order) - Abby, Audrey, Caleb, Little, Little B, and Will - and we finger painted picture frames for Father's Day. It. Was. Fun.

***Please note that the above mentioned friends included their mommies, their little sisters, their big brothers, and their little brothers as well. Also, two of the names have been changed to reflect what their mommies call them in their own blogs. Thank you. Please read on.***

It was pure and utter chaos, but the kids had a blast, the moms got to catch up, and the dads all get something handmade from their little ones for Father's Day. How do you lose on a day like today?

T Rex

Long ago, in an office building far, far away, I wasn't "just a mom." I had deadlines, budgets, PTO days, and an office with a window and a door. When I was pretty pregnant with Daniel, my froworkers (friends + coworkers = froworkers) threw me a baby shower. It was really, really nice. I got all sorts of amazing stuff. Handmade blankets, a gift card to the spa, a million other really nice things, and a ginormous t rex (featured in Disney's Toy Story). Rex's job was to watch over the crib as I believed he was entirely too large to go in the crib with my child. When Daniel was born, Rex was probably 3 times larger than my teeny baby.

A week ago, we converted Daniel's crib into a toddler bed:

Since then, Daniel, for some odd reason, has decided that Rex needs to go to bed with him. Rex needs to read stories with him. Rex needs to work on the a/c with him:

This morning, at about 4:00, Rex fell out of the bed. Daniel very carefully lowered himself out of bed, hoisted Rex back into bed, cuddled up with him, and went back to sleep. I'm not sure what prompted this new obsession, but it sure is funny. I'm just waiting for the day that he decides Rex needs to go in the car with us. We'll have to purchase a second car seat!

Foto Friday

Friday, my dad and I rented a jackhammer to take down the basketball post about which our HOA has sent 5 letters. Count them - one, two, three, four, five.

Daniel helped (by sitting in my car and eating goldfish).

Then he made his own jackhammer out of a USB cable and a Little Tykes screwdriver.

Daddy brought home something shiny for Mama.

Mama cried. The end.

Hawaii

I was recently talking with a good friend about our respective honeymoons in Hawaii and something occurred to me. Hawaii? It gets in your bones. Once you've stepped off of the plane and into the trade winds, something in your soul changes.

It's been nearly 6 years since Doug and I tied the knot on the little island of Kauai and I can still smell the plumeria. I can close my eyes and go directly to a little grass hut. In that hut, there's a girl wearing long skirts and a bandana. She's holding a ukulele, but she isn't playing it. Her eyes are closed and she's singing the most beautiful rendition of Ave Maria I've ever heard. Doug and I are sitting at a tiny table for two. We're under the stars and have been married for approximately 12 hours. I'm eating a fish sandwich and enjoying a beer. We'll soon head for our condo and fall asleep watching Braveheart.

I'm sure that most people have the unique experience of having their wedding day "burned" into their brains. Me? I have the unique experience of having an entire 10 days of my destination wedding latched onto my soul. I long to go back. I long to walk on the beach where Doug and I said, "I do." I yearn for that tiny slice of perfection, even if most of the perfection has been washed into the sea by the Pacific waves and remains mostly in my head. I have dreams about macadamia nut pancakes and pineapple syrup. I have to wonder if Mai Tais taste better in Hawaii than they do in Texas.

Something about Hawaii calls to me (and to everyone else I know who has been there). There's something majestic about it. Something ancient and pure and. . . perfect. Something other than the eight-hour flight asks to be a part of my life again and I listen. Some day, we'll go back. But until then, we are so very blessed to have such vivid memories of a beautiful, wondrous, sacred place. Until we manage to make it back, I'll just surround myself with plumeria-scented candles, photos of Birds of Paradise, and sarongs and wait patiently. Aloha and mahola, Hawaii. It was nice to meet you.

Not Me! Monday! Episode 3

Oh. Dear. God. This has literally been the shittiest day of my entire life. It was not me who spent Daniel's entire nap scrubbing dog poop out of my carpet. One more reason to hate carpet and one more reason to start locking the dogs in the kitchen when I leave the house. It was not me who had to fish my child and his poop out of the bathtub tonight. It was not me who swore that I would be showering with bleach and a Brillo pad tonight.

It was not me who finished my blog last Monday only to sit down in the backyard and cry for another hour. It was not me who claimed that our calendar was wrong and declared that May 15 would be Mother's Day at the Carey household. It was not me who woke up to homemade waffles yesterday morning. And it was not me who spent 3 hours digging in the dirt while Doug and Daniel detailed my car. Nor was it me who burst into tears (again) this morning when Doug revealed my "real" Mother's Day gift to me. He's having a ring made for me. Word? It's going to be the complement to my wedding ring (which is also my engagement ring) and I can't wait to see it. He designed it and the jeweler is working on it now. So it won't be me who drops in on the jeweler tomorrow to have my wedding band cleaned and to have my finger measured for a new ring. Sweet!

Ugh. It is also not me who is getting ready to attack the carpet with more carpet cleaner nor is it me who will be lighting yet another candle before joining the Brillo pad and bleach in the shower.

Seriously? Ugh.

I went and had my hair trimmed today. Ugh. I feel like it's SO much longer than this:
















But I guess it is some better than this:
















Oh wait! Now that I see them together, I realize that it HAS grown! A lot! It's just not nearly as long as it seems. That's probably because summer is upon us, it's hot, and it's touching me. I did learn today, though, that it's ok to use a ponytail holder. I thought they all broke your hair. Nope! Just the ones with metal involved. You learn something new every day.

Happy growing!

Hearsay

Little girl (age 4) - Daddy? What did Coco (recently deceased family cat) die of?

Daddy (CFO of major electrical contractor) - Coco died of cancer.

Little girl (thoughtfully) - Cancer like Mimi died from?

Daddy - Yeah. Kind of like that.

Little girl - Huh. I didn't know cats could smoke.