To all moms, happy Mother's Day.

Like all people I have a mother that I was born to.  I know that she loves me and I love her too.  I will always remember playing in the snow as a child and have her call us in to wrap up in a big fluffy blanket and rocking us and playing guitar for us until we were warm enough to go outside again.  I will always appreciate her being my Girl Scout leader,  being there for me at choir performances, and for the time she painted a moon on my bedroom wall in glitter paint.  But for several reasons I don't intend to go into now she is not the only mother I have had.



My mother and I opening presents, for some reason I can't remember when this was.

My mother and I at my wedding.

 

Her mother, my grandma T took me in and I lived with her for the second half of my 8th grade year.  I honestly don't remember much from that time in my life, lets call it selective memory.  I am sure I was a huge pain in the butt because frankly what preteen girl isn't?  But I know she did her best, put me in the best school available, and opened her home to my brother and I even though she didn't have to. She dealt with requirements, classes, and court dates and me a girl grieving a situation I could never get back.  And I will love her forever.

 

My grandma and grandpa T at my wedding.

Grandma T holding baby girl.

 

Then I lived with my grandma B during my high school years.  She gave me the love, space, and independence I needed.  She gave me a home with yummy food, family dinners, and a lot of beauty.  She was there through several things, like some people I really care about being arrested,  my uncle dying, and high school which is pretty hard alone.  She has been my hero for along time for the way she is the glue that holds that whole side of my family together.

Grandma and Grandpa B at my wedding.

 

Grandma B holding Dravyn, her first great grand baby.

 

After high school I went to college and met an amazing man who is now my husband, and I gained another mother.  A mom who helped plan our wedding, asked for details after every prenatal and baby appointment at the doctor, who is a lifesaver for taking baby girl off my hands when I feel like I am going to rip my hair out, and who deals with us still being in her house after what was supposed to be "just a little while" but has been 3 years.

The mother and Father In law.

 

Mother in-law with Dravyn on her first day.

 

But I also have my Mummy.  She may biologically be my aunt, but she is so much more.  She took care of me before I was old enough to go to school, she always is there when i need advice, knows all kinds of things about me,  always welcomes us for visits, and is the one who I wanted with me the day I became a mommy.  She is Dravyn's Grummy, and is a great mom to her other 3 daughters.



Mummy and Dravyn on her first day.

Mummy helping me get my shoes on before my wedding.

Me and Hawaiian Mummy.  Did I mention she is always up for my crazy ideas?

 

I hope that I give my daughter all the love these women have showed me, and that when she gets older she feels as lucky to have me as I do to have them.  Being a mother is not easy, it is constant worry and constant chaos, but also constant love.  I wish every mother a happy Mother's Day and hope someone else does the dishes.

What is up with the crazy weather?

April showers bring May snow?

 

 

I kept taking photos thinking "This will be the last snow of the year." "OK, this will be the last snow of the year."  Nope, it fooled me, and I didn't feel like getting my camera out for photos, so this photo of the last snow of the year is brought to you by my I-Pad. *Fingers and toes crossed that this time I was right.

Dravyn is such a mystery.  One minute she is picking dandelion flowers by the handful and singing "La La La", and the next minute she is covered head to toe in mud jumping up and down and splashing it everywhere and throwing tiny pebbles into said mud puddle.

She is getting so good at climbing on the structures at the park and going down the slides. She still wants a hand to go down some of them, and while I am so excited to watch her explore like a big girl, I am loving how she knows I am there to help her if she needs it.

This summer is going to be fun, I can tell already!

Changing the world.

I want my child to get an education, I don't want her to live in poverty, I want her to find true love, and have long lasting friendships.  When she gets older I want her to know that she can come to me for emotional support, and I want to be able to offer her explanations of what I would do in a situation but allow her to make her own decisions with the knowledge that I will be there if she makes the wrong one.  I want her to have a home of her own, and a career she loves, unless she is a stay home mom, and then I want her to love that.

But more than that I want her to grow up in a world where the good outshines the bad and where there is more joy than fear.  I hope so badly that this world lives up to those expectations, despite weeks like last one.

So many sad things happen, but I think it's important to point out the good and fun things too.  So that is what I am going to do now.  I will end this post with pictures of fun and beautiful things.

A light dusting of snow and flowers both pictures taken today.

 

 

Watching NASCAR races live.

 

 

And a sleeping dog, so peaceful.

I made it a year.

It has been a year since I started this blog, a whole year.  A lot is the same, but a lot has changed.

Dravyn was only 9 months old when I started this blog and she is now almost 2, birthday party planning will occur soon, but it will be a much smaller affair this year.

I am now an Independent Thirty-One Consultant, something I love.  I never had an issue with purses or shoes, but oh my I am a bag addict now.

 

 

I have enjoyed posting over the last year, and hope to eventually get to the point where I actually accomplish the things I started out to do.  I don't think I am ever going to be a brilliant and inspiring writer, but I hope that I at least keep my family up to date and add a little beauty to this space on the Internet.

During a real toddler photo shoot....

 

 

You get slightly blurry shots, and really blurry shots.

A change of scenery just because, and anger at props.

Closed eyes, and bugger picking.

 

Tools of bribery that don't always work, and some tears.

 

 

But you also get genuine smiles, curious looks, and if you are lucky a few other "keepers". 

 

 

 

Happy 21 months baby girl, I love you.



Birthday Blowout!

I love birthdays! It may seem kind of childish, but I look at it as taking the opportunity to celebrate and be happy.  One year I spent the day wearing a tiara... I was in college.  This year I took a slightly less dramatic route, but one that was a completely different level of awesome.

I woke up and my husband had made me sausage, biscuits, and eggs which is obviously an amazing start to any day.  At lunch we went and picked up my cake from the bakery, next year I will come up with a better idea for the cake, all I told them this time was white cake, white icing, and pink decorations.

After lunch I played outside with my beautiful daughter.  It is hard to imagine any celebration without her, she definitely makes life so much cuter.

 

My in laws took us out to dinner to celebrate, and then we came back and ate cake and ice cream and opened my gifts.

 

 

Dravyn got tired of trying to use utensils but not getting the last of the cake crumbs out of the bottom of the bowl.

 

 

 

My wonderful husband then took us out to the city lake for some fresh air and fun!

 

I hope you have a great weekend, and find something to celebrate soon!



20 Months!

 

Someone turned 20 months old not long ago, and is just about to the point of driving me crazy every single day. Her vocabulary is growing like crazy and she just melts my heart when she is being sweet.

 

 

 

 

A few days ago she found a belly dance skirt a friend gave me during high school and is obsessed with it now, she loves wearing it and running around to make it jingle.

 

 

 

I am looking forward to this weekend and having more time with my two favorite people.