Weekend at the river...my big accomplishment!

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Babylove

Most of the time, as mothers, we are quite sure that our children have no idea of the depths of our love for them. But sometimes, I think, they prove us wrong. Dan is one of those sometimes. As he creeps closer to three (two weeks away now!), I grow ever more conscious of the reality that one day he will be too big for me to hold, too grown-up for me to snuggle, and too mature to need his mommy. So I try to savor every hug, every kiss, every time I hear the word "Mommy" from his lips. Sometimes, though, he helps me.

Usually these times occur at night, as just happened a few moments ago. Sometimes, I think his not-quite-three-year-old brain is actually able to wrap itself around the monstrosity that is my love for him. When he is snuggled in bed, he will tell me that he wants "to be covered up with Mommy," which means he wants me to lie on his bed, more or less on top of him, snuggling him. Being a mommy, I am happy to oblige. Sometimes he just giggles and acts silly, but occasionally, he will place his little hands on either side of my face and look solemnly into my eyes, as if he is trying to communicate to me how much love for me is in his little heart. These occasions usually bring spontaneous tears to my eyes (usually, my head is also spinning at the abrupt 180 he has turned, because he has only two settings: Sweet as Sugar and Rosemary's Baby).

Tonight was Mark's evening to put him to bed, so while he was doing that, I was downstairs reading and playing around on my laptop. Mark decided to turn in early, and I went into the bathroom for a moment, after all was quiet and Mark had gone to sleep. I could hear the muffled sounds of singing coming from Dan's room (his room is directly over ours), so I decided to go check it out (it sounded too cute to be missed). I crept upstairs and quietly opened his bedroom door. He was lying in bed playing with his "baby" (a Glo-Worm that my mother-in-law gave to Kate last Christmas, but which Dan quickly commandeered). Dan's "baby" lights up (thus the "glo" part of Glo-Worm designation) and plays music when you press its stomach. The music it plays are familiar lullabies, most of which Dan knows the words to, so he was singing along. It was indeed too cute to be missed, so I went in and sat on his bed for a minute to talk with him. I asked him if he was singing to himself, and he gave me his angelic little smile and said yes (I used to sing myself to sleep when I was little, so it was a particularly precious moment for me), and then, when I reached down to hug him, he wrapped his little arms around me and that's when it happened. He squeezed me so tightly, it was like he was trying to say, "Mommy, I don't have the words to tell you how much I love you, so I'll tell you with my arms." I kissed him all over his little face and tried not to tear up as I told him (again) how much I love him.

In some ways, I am anxious for him to be older, because I think of all the fun things we have in our future--sports, family vacations, watching him learn to ride a bike, swim, and rollerskate. But in other ways, I just want to hit the "pause" button and freeze him at this age forever--or at least until I get my fill of his hugs and kisses and sweet little loves. But I guess that will never happen, huh? So time will march on, and one day my little guy will be a big guy, and he won't need me so much, and he won't want his face covered in Mommy Kisses. I just hope when the time comes, I'll be ready to let go. Because let's face it...there's nothing more uncool than a mom who won't let her little boy go.

New haircut

Well...I did it. I finally bit the bullet, grew a pair, and got the haircut I've been trying to work up the nerve to get for years! My hair is now officially shorter than it has ever been before. People are going nuts over it, but Mark hasn't seen it yet, so it remains to be seen whether he will like it (I'm betting he hates it, just for the record). It will be super-easy and quick in the morning, and that was definitely a motivating factor, but more than anything, I think the haircut suits my hair type. I have absolutely no body in my hair, so I think something short and choppy is perfect for it. We'll see if I still like it in a week, but for now, I love it!

Random Rumblings...

This just in...Phillip Fulmer is resigning as UT's head football coach, effective immediately, and has accepted the position of head of FEMA, due to his amazing ability to evacuate over 100,000 people in mere minutes...

I love the cameraderie of the river. There is something so genial about boating; each time you pass someone on a boat, skis, or personal watercraft, there's that laid-back tilting of the head, or the lazy lift of the hand...some unspoken acknowledgement of the kinship of the water.

Is it fantastically egotistical or merely normal that I think my children are the most adorable creatures ever to crawl the earth? I'm surprised I'm not fawning at their feet sometimes...

My elbow is still killing me. I swiped some of my mom's hydrocodone (ok, ok...I didn't *swipe* it...she gave it to me), and it's helping somewhat, but seriously, y'all...that trailer crank NAILED me. What I didn't realize until yesterday is how often I lean on my elbow with my chin in my hand...

I am getting my hair cut in the morning. It remains to be seen how drastic it will be. I'm vacillating wildly between the idea of chopping it off into a cool, spiky 'do, or just cutting a couple of inches off. I suppose we shall see what mood I'm in at 8:15 tomorrow morning.

I have seriously packed on the pounds in the last week or so. After dropping 8 pounds due to that nasty stomach bug, I thought I was on my way to losing a bit, but no.... I gained it all back and THEN SOME! What's up with that, I ask you?

And that is all for this evening. I believe that's all the random rumblings anyone can stand. I'm off to bed at an insanely early hour, and I shall enjoy every minute of it.

Wild Weekend...

So it's Monday afternoon, and I'm still doing my darndest to recover from the weekend. It was a busy one (and a great one!) for sure, but I think I need a weekend to recuperate from my weekend (kinda like needing a vacation to recover from your vacation?).

The big news--we bought a boat on eBay. Yay! So Mark drove up to BFE Kentucky Friday to pick the thing up, and that was an adventure all of its own. Seriously...there were points where he was getting a mind-blowing 6 mpg on the way back, pulling that thing. Meanwhile, I'm home alone with the kids, which is probably not a big deal for most moms, but I'm used to having Superdad around to help shoulder the burden. He got home in time for us to hang out in our new toy for awhile (Dan squealed when he saw it--he was mad at us for selling the bass boat). Kate was already in bed, so we were able to chill in the new ride without worrying too much about her.

Saturday we picked up our friends Tim and Sherry (or Shim and Terry, as we like to call them) and headed north to Knoxville for the UT-Florida "game." The term "game" has to be used loosely here, because it was more of a bloodbath than a game. We tailgated for about five minutes (literally) before heading into Neyland Stadium to watch the destruction. And y'all...it was ugly. No, it was even worse than that--it was fugly. At least we were entertained by the guy in front of us brushing his teeth the whole time. (Seriously).

We left in the fourth quarter and went to eat at Calhoun's on the Marina, where we had a blast feeding the fattest ducks and carp you've ever seen in your life. Then we headed home, where Mark and I had the wondrous pleasure of spending the night in our house with NO CHILDREN! Laura had both kids spending the night at her house, and all I can say is that it was just seven kinds of bliss to sleep all night and then even sleep in a bit.

Sunday we took the boat out for its inaugural trip. We put in at Highway 58, and Mark realized his trailer lock was too small. He was worried someone would steal our trailer, so he suggested I drive the trailer over to the Buckners' cabin and leave it there. I couldn't get Kathy on the phone to ask her if it was okay, so I just headed that way, figuring they'd probably be there. So I get over there and yep, they're there, but the boat is gone, meaning...they're out and are gonna wonder who the hell has parked in their yard when they get back!

Dan and Mark came to pick Kate and me up on the Buckners' dock, and off we headed (thankfully, we ran into Kathy on her JetSki on the way out, and we explained the situation). We stayed out for several hours, and Dan had a total blast. He saw Mommy wearing her sunglasses, so he decided he needed his, as well.

Kate was easy as pie, of course. She just chilled in the captain's chair. She didn't even mind her life jacket!

The only downside to the weekend was almost breaking my elbow when the crank on the trailer flew back and slammed into it. But, um, lesson learned. I won't do that again. I'm just disappoined that it's almost too cool to be on the water. We'll try to wear it out for the next few weekends, I'm sure, and then of course, we'll take it to Destin. But I'm really looking forward to next summer!

Well, we're all in trouble now.

Oh, me. I've started a blog. Because we all know that an overly-talkative, overly-opinionated person like me REALLY, REALLY needs her own space to vent her thoughts. Snort.

Ok, so it's not that, really. But I seem to have rediscovered my love of writing lately, and I have been feeling the need to note a lot of things, from the mundane to the (semi) profound.

I suspect that this blog (much like me) will be eclectic in nature, with musings ranging from politics (uh-oh) to the prosaic thoughts that occur to me through my day-to-day activities, with a healthy dose of adoration for my children thrown in for good measure (I mean, come on...would I be a normal mom otherwise?).

If you decide to subscribe, yay! If not, I probably can't really blame you. :)