Too good to wait.

In three weeks these babies will be in our living room. After 10 years, Jeff and I are getting new couches. My man looooves me! If you know me, this is the eqivalent of winning the lottery. I'm the luckiest girl in the world!!!

To counteract the angry pic.

My beautiful pig- faced children.

An example of a teething baby.

I just signed up to be able to post from my Blackberry. So now you all will have more access to the mind of ME. But without spell check--so you'll have to just deal.
So, I'm not one prone to fits of jealousy. Okay, who am I kidding? Yes I am. But, not about stuff like cars and boats and toys of that nature. That kind of stuff just has never held a lot of allure for me. Today though, I'm getting our Avenger's oil changed. And I was feeling pretty high-class because a) our dodge is a pretty nice vehicle, and b) because I actually was driving by myself with no kids in the car. So, I was enjoying the illusion of youth and possible coolness.
Then I was passed by a silver, convertible Dodge Viper that was being driven by a skinny girl talking on her cellphone, swirving a little, and having her perfectly shaggy pixie cut being artfully swayed in the wind. Uh..illusions of grandeur were stopped immediately.

Merry Month of May

Okay, I guess it's been an adequate amount of time to have left Jeff's post up. An entire week. It was hard to do, actually. Because a lot of stuff happened, but then, I thought it was more important for you suckas to see how much my husband loves me. I'm a lucky, lucky girl. ;)

This month has been busy. For Mother's Day, Jeff presented me with a Sony HandyCam. And I freaking LOVE it! I'm still trying to figure out how to get the best quality of pictures and such, and that always takes me a while because of my general moronic disposition, but I've been having a grand time, nevertheless. And I've been videoing like mad, as well. Most of the stuff isn't fit to display--NOT because of any lewd reasons, but because I always think something more interesting is going to happen, and so my videos are at least like, five minutes long. Shockingly enough, that's too much time to devote to a drooling baby. But, I have to have these records. I just won't bore you all with them.

For a Pre-Mother's day treat, I got to go to Riley's school, as her entire 3rd grade class put on a little show for just us Mommies. It was way cute. They danced, they sang--Riley unfortunately got stuck with the shortest male of her class. He also suffered from an extreme case of "little man's" disease; where his maturity level was in the negatives, and he reminded me of a sarcastic toad...if such a thing is possible. He was beyond mortified to dance with my daughter, and though other, less height-challenged boys didn't have any problems, he continued to act like he was dying a very slow death. As Riley's mother, you can understand why I don't like him and had fantasies of accidentally running him over in the parking lot. As if my Riley would dance with him if she hadn't been required, so get over yourself, you short socially-retarded troll. Anyhoo, the rest of it was virtually pain-free and the kids did an excellent job. I'm sure all of us felt loved, and that was the point. Also, we got really good cookies at the end. So, an all round success, if you ask me.

After the program, Riley took me to her classroom and showed me some of her projects and such. She was quite proud of this:

I loved the last bit--where "energetic", and "yawn" made up the last parts of her name; side by side. There's no labeling Riley--she's a complicated and diverse girl. But the most exciting part, I thought, was: I believe that above all, we women want to percieve ourselves as VERY imporntant. Right? I know I sure do. ;)


Also, for Mother's day I received gifts from Riley and Cole that they both made during school. A booklet from each, telling me how fabulous I am....can you imagine anything better? I seriously can't. From Cole: How did he know I only weigh 100lbs?

And from Riley: Just in case you can't see the jist of this pic, she says I'm made of love, kindness, "happyness", and sugar. If I were asked what I were made of, I'd totally say the exact same things. ;) I have great kids, I seriously do.

I am proud to report that Syd now has two bottom teeth that she and myself, and everyone else in this household worked very hard to bring into being. A lot of sleeplessness and cranky episodes were involved, and I'm hoping that her easy-going demeanor will now make a comeback. She started the whole process at the end of her third month, and I just am keeping my fingers crossed that no more will make an appearance for at least a while. I've really been missing my sleep. I know I complain a lot about this...but I get even crazier when deprived of my Zzzz's, and we all know that isn't a positive thing.

This weekend I was a little bummed that I missed the Anderson Sand Dunes trip, but I have issues with sand and babies. I know, I'm a completely rotten mother that never lets her kids have any fun; they remind me often. However, taking a teething baby with constant drool to an area where sand and dirt are swirling all around was something I didn't think I could do without Jeff, as he had free-lance projects. So instead, I was overly lazy and the kids played on our trampoline. On a side note, Cole told me that this was the "best weekend of his life". He tells me this on a regular basis, yes. But it could always be worse, right?

The other adventure I have to mention is one of our favorites. My little Sis, Muff and her husband Chris, became parents of a sort. This is their baby:
Isn't she sweet? I don't know how many posts of the "I hate dogs" variety I've done, but the truth is this...I don't hate them. I just hate the owners that don't pick up after their pets, or let their dogs bully my kids, or are fine with their pets invading those that don't-have-that-special-bond-with-them's space. I know that sounds really raunchy of me, but I feel like it's the same with kids, you know? No one wants me to let my kids jump on their furniture, or take a dump on their lawn, or yell at them for telling them no. That kind of stuff.

Lastly, I'm leaving you all with a couple videos. The first is Jeff spying on Cole and how he plays with Syd. And the second is of Maddie, Muff's baby bassett hound, and how she howls. It's adorable. So many babies...so much cuteness. Okay, it's time for me to sleeeeeep. Two more weeks of school, and then we are free for an entire summer. I can't wait!

WOW (by Jeff)

I am calling this post WOW because it is fitting in two ways.

1. WOW, perfectly describes the subject of this post, mothers.

and

2. Cole made Rainey a mothers day book at school and he glued the card on the front upside-down so it read "WOW". I thought that was both funny and accurate.

In my humble opinion there are two great mothers in the world, my mother and my wife. Not that there are not other great mothers out there, it's just that I'm a little biased.

First, Happy Mothers Day to my Mom. She might not have always understood me but she let me find my own way in the world and I am forever grateful for her patience and love.

Now, the mother of my children. That sounds so odd to say it like that. Like there's a distance there that shouldn't be. Rainey has become the most amazing person. In the 10 plus years I have known her she has defied categorization and expanded my capacity to love. Every day I reminded of how lucky I am to be with her. She brings a light to my life that I couldn't find anywhere else. She has brought us three amazing kids who love her with all their heart... but how could you not.



She gives all of herself without question. While the kids may not appreciate her as much as they should, their love for her comes out in unexpected ways. Sydney adores her, much to my chagrin (she thinks of me as a big couch that props her up). Cole love's her to the extent that his heart breaks if she isn't happy (or happy with him). Riley and her have this mutual bond that I cannot touch. She is so kind and understanding, she just brings so much to our family that I can't really describe with any amount of accuracy. She would do anything for us, and us for her.

When I was a teenager I imagined this one person who I would spend all my time with for the rest of my life. Now, I never really thought I would find this person, if she really existed. But I let myself imagine her just the same. It comforted me to pretend there was someone like this out there for me. It was in the space needle in Seattle that I realized Rainey was this person. It hit me like a bolt of lightning. At that moment I knew I loved her.

Rainey,
I love you so much, more every year, month, week, day. Without you I couldn't make it, I wouldn't be who I am today without your encouragement, support, friendship, and love. Our kids wouldn't be the wonderful people they are and our lives would be lacking.

Happy Mothers Day (P.S. this is your mothers day card)