January

Suddenly, I looked up and it's February tomorrow. Then, I looked again and my baby is going to be 9 months old next week. Even further still, I looked and Lila sounded out a word on a billboard. Maybe if I keep my eyes closed time will freeze, even if just for a moment. Actually, I could even handle it slowing down quite a bit if only it would.

I also noticed that I went on sort of blogging run and then hiatus all at once. Sorry for the inconsistency. I've only been a tiny bit busy.

This month I turned 32. And what a month it's been! I've already covered the Orlando trip and Disney. Here is about the most concise rundown I can give of the rest of it even though concise isn't really who I am.

The weekend after Orlando was to be my birthday. I was excited to stay home, relax, and do a whole lot of nothing with my family. Thursday rolled around and Seth asked if we could get a sitter for the day on Friday. In my head I thought, men are so silly. Doesn't he know that if I could get a sitter at the drop of a hat on a weekday I would do it? Like a lot? Apparently he does not know this. So I chuckled, called the one person I could think of to call (hope you are feeling better Anna!) and went on my merry way. He then says, "Ah, that's ok. The girls can just come with us". I'm thinking, what on God's green Earth are we doing on a weekday that could or could not involve two small children?

Seth comes home that night and tells me we need to be up at 6:30 in time to leave. We get up and he tells me we are going to Chick-fil-A. The whole morning was pretty frantic. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why we were in such a hurry to go to breakfast. Fast forward a few hours and I am sitting in a parking deck at the airport with papers that say I am going to NY in complete disbelief that this is the route the day is taking. Seth tries to take a video of my reaction to his carefully orchestrated surprise, but you could say I was a little shocked. I'm not the most spontaneous person. I like to plan things. But let me tell you...once the confusion cleared and Seth started rummaging through what he had packed for me, I started crying. Could it be true? Could he really have done this for me? I know my husband loves to give me gifts. He loves to surprise me and he puts a lot of thought into getting my things he knows I will love. As you can imagine, this one takes the cake. The thirtieth birthday surprise party was amazing, but it was my thirtieth. I was sort of hoping to have a throw down. There is truly something to be said for the completely unexpected, completely shocking, and completely perfect gift. That's what this trip was for me.

I miss my sister more than I have probably missed anyone in my life. Just a few weeks before this trip I was having a meltdownish sort of day and admitted to her that I was sure I was screwing up my kids. There were tears and feelings of frustration in abundance. When I stopped talking to her that night I realized I was still crying. I realized on top of the everyday trials of being a stay at home mom, I just really missed her in an awful way.

As I sat in the airport drinking coffee it dawned on me that I could do whatever I wanted. I could buy a book. Better yet I could read it. I could talk on the phone and only be competing with the loud speaker announcing flight information. I could eat slowly and peacefully. I could even sit and just stare at people if I wanted to. Glorious. I'm not even going to dive into the disclaimer about how I love my children and the fact that I get to spend every waking minute with them. All I'm going to say is when it's been a long time since you've had a little freedom to do whatever you want you value every second of it.

The NY weekend was a blur of hats, gloves, eating, coats, scarves, shopping, eating some more, talking, drinking, and running around. I got to see what Sara's life has been like since the fall. Where she eats, how she makes her away around the big city, and where she hangs out.

Brooklyn Flea Market in a beautiful old bank

Bloody Marys and brunch after the market

 Poetry slam at the Bowery Poetry club!

Monet at the MOMA

Times Square!

Needless to say, Seth outdid himself. I am truly the luckiest girl around.

When I got back from NY my family was sort of in shambles. When I left Lila had a slight cold that turned into a nasty cold for everyone. Within the next week and a half Evie ended up with the cold/cough, pink eye, and an ear infection. We were supposed to go the following weekend to Americus to celebrate Christmas with my mom's family. Yes, we are aware Christmas was a month ago. You do what ya gotta do. Lila and I ended up going with my mom so Seth could stay here and take Evie to the doctor again. 

AND, if all of this wasn't enough, I had originally planned to go the lake with some girlfriends this past weekend for my birthday. This was, of course, before I had any idea about NY. I gave Seth an out and told him I would cancel, but he told me to go! It was a great end to a month of great weekends. 

As much fun as I have had and as much as I appreciate it all, it's nice to be home consistently for a while. I missed my little chickies. Speaking of them, a post is coming soon with gobs of videos and pictures that I am so behind on sharing. Like I said, things are changing so fast I just can't keep up!