St. Valentine's

In addition to the bounty from losing a tooth, Valentine's Day also delivered to Kitty delicious treats and a marvelous dinner.  She had her school party the Friday before Valentine's Day but I was out of town for a funeral.  Michael didn't take one photo of Kitty's haul or her custom-decorated collection bag.  Not one!  He'll take a hundred photos of the cat or a tree, but not one of his daughter on Valentine's Day.  

Some people.

Kitty's collection bag was all nerd this year.  She printed out a Penrose triangle and the Pi symbol.  She glued them on the bag and wrote, "Stop and smell the Pen-roses" and "You're a sweetie Pi."  This was all her idea and execution. She's a clever nerd, that one.

I made cards for my 2 Valentines and bought Kitty a Keeper of the Lost Cities t-shirt and a box of See's Scotchmallow bars.  She's crazy for those puppies.  Kitty drew us a lovely picture in return and even Jeffery got in on the action and wrote a card to Michael.

We had delightful dinner of steak and enjoyed our day of love.

Happy Valentine's Day!    

Dental Distress

I thought Kitty was done losing teeth by now.  I mean, come one, how many teeth does one kid have?

A lot.

Kitty yanked out a molar on Valentine's Day Eve.  She handed me the tooth and stated, "Just get me something good.  I'd love a new gyroscope but I'll be happy with anything."

Ah, the gyroscope.  You see, Kitty spent her allowance on a gyroscope a couple of months ago, played with it for one magical evening, and then it was gone.  It just up and vanished like my youth.  We've scoured every conceivable location for that thing.  Nada.  Losing a molar seemed like a valid occasion to replace the absent toy.

I went to the hobby store in the morning and picked one up. I threw in some Zotz at the register because you just gotta.  Later that afternoon I was cleaning the house.  I picked up my diploma to dust underneath it and you'll never guess what rolled out from behind its depths.

Kitty's missing gyroscope.

This made me think 2 things: 

1. I'm a slob and haven't dusted my bookcase in a couple of months.

2. There goes 10 perfectly good bucks down the drain.

I thought about returning the new gyroscope but Kitty had a better idea.  She wanted to give it to her cousin.  I guess I can live with her generosity.

I think she only has one more tooth left to lose.  My pocketbook hopes so.

Anakeesta

While I was away at the funeral, Kitty and Michael adventured to a new spot called Anakeesta.  The weather was chilly, the traffic was horrendous, but they reported that a fine time was had by all.  They explored the treetops and had a delicious BBQ lunch.  All good things.

I'm glad for these moments when Kitty and Michael spend time together without me.  I love that they get each other and have their inside nerd jokes.  I love that my husband is an involved father.  

I love it all. 

Friends for 25

25 years ago I met my friend Theresa.  We were freshmen in college and in the Culinary Arts program together.  We instantly hit it off.  She quickly introduced me to her family and I was absorbed into their clan.  Her sisters became my sisters. The following year, my sissy joined me at college and she was absorbed also.  

We don't get to see each other often, but that doesn't diminish our relationship.  We are family.  

Theresa's mama died recently.  I loved Mama Moreno. She would grab my face and kiss my cheeks every time I saw her.  I knew I couldn't miss her funeral.  I also knew I didn't want to go alone so I talked my mom and sissy into joining me for the services in Oregon.  I flew into Idaho Thursday evening and my mom and I mooched dinner off my other sissy.  It was a wonderful evening with my favorite Italians.  The next morning, I met up with my sister before dawn to drive to the funeral in the bleak winter cold.

Despite the circumstances, it was a wonderful day.  I laughed so hard with my sissy and mom on the car ride that I cried.  I haven't done that in a long time.  We caught up on life and enjoyed each other's company.

At the funeral, I hugged my other sisters and cried.  I contemplated the last 25 years and was grateful for good friends, for a good life, and for the knowledge that death is not the end.  After a delicious feast of Mexican food, we hit the road again and drove into the nighttime.

I was on a plane early Saturday morning back to TN.

Those few days left me feeling fulfilled.  I'm grateful for lasting friendship.  I'm grateful for a husband who didn't even hesitate to support me when I told him I wanted to go to the funeral. I'm grateful for the hours I was able to spend with my mom and my sister.  I'm grateful to love others and to be loved.

Death can be incredibly sad and traumatic.  But it also brings people together in a beautiful way.  

I'm grateful for the beautiful part. 

Pregnancy News

So this happened:

It's strange to think that there will actually be a person sleeping in there soon.  I still feel like this whole situation is surreal.  But my excitement is growing each day.  Much like my hips.

Here's the scoop at 22-ish weeks of pregnancy:

• Our baby is growing normally and measures within the correct parameters for its age.
• Baby weighs 1 pound, 2 oz and has long legs.  It's gonna be a Jolly Green like me.
• We saw the baby moving around on the ultrasound and watched it get a drink.
• Baby likes to keep an arm resting on its forehead.  Michael does this when watching TV.
• I am incredibly bloated and have a big butt.
• I want to bake all the time and feel like my hunger is never satiated.  (Hence the big butt)
• Kitty has been practicing proper baby-holding techniques with her stuffed panda bear.  She is quite proficient at it.
• We have purchased a car seat, a few clothes, and a stroller.

Wowza!  This is really happening!

Les Miserables

Here's something you may not know: Michael loves Les Misérables.  And I mean loves. We saw it on stage many years ago before we were wrinkled and old.  He cried.  I felt like a good wife for getting the tickets.

Way back in August I was poking around on the Interweb looking for tour information for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I thought Kitty would appreciate the show.  Well, I didn't find anything.  BUT! I did stumble upon Les Misérables tickets for a performance in Charlotte, NC.  I knew that I should be a good wife and buy tickets for my husband who loves the story.

Six months later, the day finally arrived and we could go see the show.  We prepped Kitty on the storyline and she was surprisingly nervous about the content.  She thought it would be scary or too mature for her.  She was so worried about it that she prayed for peace about going.  I was astonished by her hesitation but incredibly proud of her for praying about her concerns.  

God comforted her soul and she was excited to see the production.  I love prayer.

So away we went.  It was a beautiful drive, the weather was gorgeous, and the show was amazing.

Michael cried again.

I did too.  But I'm pregnant and full of hormones so...

We also hit up the Discovery Place Science Museum while we were in town.  You gotta throw in the nerd somewhere.  Kitty got to pet a giant iguana and we waited patiently for an Imax movie that was glitching and didn't happen.  That was disappointing.

But we did get to visit Ikea so all was not lost.

It was a quick weekend but one that will live on in memory.

I guess sometimes it pays to be a good wife.