Dear Monday,

I don't love you.

I don't know if it's real or my mind messing with me: but you are a hard day to get through.

Especially when Charlie was up in the night throwing up.

And Ben didn't want to sleep in...even a little.

And someone crashed my van and we might have to pay for it.

And our freezer is wonky.

And our kitchen light won't work.

And I'm the only one in the house who knows how to do dishes.

Or empty ones that have milk in them.

Seriously?

What did I ever do to you?

Husband Bragging

Smiles.

Will and I love, love, love to read.

I hope our kids do, too.

---

Today is Will's birthday.

He is the ripe old age of...twenty-four.

Gasp!

Did you know he was six months younger than me?

Now you do.

Since it's his birthday, I wanted to take the opportunity to brag about him a bit.

Because I think he's fabulous.

First of all...he married me. :) He puts up with all my "junk."

He moved me and our baby girl out here after living in the same town his entire life.

He joined the USAF. He went through boot camp. He went through tech school.

He was away from us for five months.

All to give us a better life.

He looks pretty good in uniform, too. I'm not going to lie.

He listens to all of my crazy ideas. He supports a lot of them.

Almost a year ago...he bought us this house.

A huge accomplishment for any just-turned-23-year-old. Especially with a wife and two kids.

And now we have three kids.

And he's great with all of them.

He's sweet and funny...sometimes crazy silly. He can almost always make me laugh. He's good at math and spelling. He always compliments my cooking. He likes to drive and listen to music. He takes out the trash and vacuums. He rides his bike to work. He always volunteers to change a dirty diaper when he's home. He deals with my compulsive texting. He even replies when he can.

He encourages all my endeavors.

Most importantly, he shares my faith.

He is my best friend and my biggest fan.

And I am his.

Truth in Advertising

Have you seen those Pampers commercials?

Claiming to "sag less" than Huggies?

I didn't buy it.

But I did buy the diapers. I had a coupon. They were on sale.

Never again.

This is after his morning diaper change. Maybe an hour or so?

I just prefer Huggies. They seem better all around.

I had to bribe him with mini M&M's to get him to let me take these pictures.

"Yeah, all my clothes are in the wash..."

:)

Date Night

On Tuesday Charlotte and I went on a date to the movies.

Both the babies stayed home with Will.

We saw Marmaduke.

I thought it was very cute.

She was very excited. Almost too excited to eat dinner. She kept saying, "But I thought we were taking Libby?" Which...made me sad.

Taken with my phone. I'm (past)due for a new phone. I should look for one with a better camera.

We were two of four people in the theater.

We sat in a little "loveseat" type seat.

With our popcorn between us some of the time, cuddling and holding hands the rest.

It was a wonderful date.

---

I don't know what it is with me about leaving my babies.

I just feel like they can't possible survive without me.

I know it's ridiculous.

I can't remember how old Charlie was when I first left her somewhere.

Probably around a month. I remember why: we were going to see a play with my in-laws.

Ben...was about six weeks. I let my mom take him home from Light in the Night while I finished up. Gosh, I took him everywhere. Granted: 90% of the time I had Charlie with me too.

I've already left Libby with Will three times. She's seven weeks old.

Twice I left her to take Ben to the Dr.

And now this time to take Charlie to the movies.

She hasn't died.

Actually, I'm pretty sure she slept through the first two times and fussed just a little while we were at the movies.

How is it possible that this makes me feel like a bad mom?

I don't know. For sure.

Anyway.

The point is. When I had Ben I didn't need to leave him because Charlie was 2.5 and still getting plenty of one-on-one time. Just like Ben is now.

I just felt/feel like it's so important for me to take some specific time to just be with Charlotte.

Not holding a baby.

Not worrying about what Ben's getting into.

I don't know if I'm expressing this accurately, but it really just seems so imperative.

You know? Before she grows up and I can't.

---

I was reading tonight about some people who don't tell people they know IRL (in real life) about their blog.

While I love sharing. And I actually wish more people (like extended family) would check in here once and awhile.

I totally get that.

A place to just vent and be and vent (did I already say that?) without worrying about what people would think or say would be...

nice.

I'm already pretty bold around these here parts though, which if you're reading this I guess you know.

xoxo

Craft & Thrift

The little girl I watch turned two over Memorial Day weekend.

She had her birthday party Sunday and we were invited.

I appliqued a little tank top for her with Curious George fabric. He is her favorite.

I also made her this little dress. It turned out so sweet. I hope her mom puts it on her so I can see her wear it. I want to make one for my girls. Maybe for myself, too. :)

The back has this buttonloop. It was the first time I'd done it, I was pretty proud.

Some blankets and burp cloths I made for the baby shower...I'm not sure how well it went over...

Sweet stuff. I got the pan FREE at a garage sale Saturday. It actually fits in my tiny oven. I'm collecting the white dishes with green flowers (to match my kitchen). I got the idea from my mom who has enough dishes for ANYTHING...but she has my grandma Mary to look at thrift stores/garage sales for her...so my collection is growing much slower. I was really excited to find a gravy boat though:) I'm also forming an eclectic green glass collection.

---

Libby is seven weeks old today.

The laundry situation around here is out of control.

Will's game was down today. It was nice.

Life is good.