In Celebration of Sandi....

and all the other woman battling breast cancer.

Susan G. Komen walk
June 2007

Notes- #5

Garage Sales are serious work- sorting, throwing, pricing, vacuuming, wiping, etc. I'll be at my post bright and early tomorrow to sell and bargain away our posessions!

A reprieve from the rain- is that really the sun I see?

Mother's Day Luncheon at my son's school- sitting on chairs 12 inches off the ground, being a part of circle time and watching 3 and 4 year olds beaming as they handed over their gifts to us.

A brief tinge of sadness when you realize your baby is growing up- quickly replaced by an overwhelming amount of pride. I now understand why moms cry at milestone events for their children.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Notes- #4

A successful no pulling on the leash walk this morning with puppy- and actually enjoying the fresh air at 5:45!!

A smile as I walked in the door late from work and saw tacos cooking on the stove and maragaritas in the blender

Fatigue of the nonstop weekend setting in, is it bedtime yet?

Moving to Pleasantville.....

Excitement in our house this weekend.... After pouring over floor plans for 2 weeks, trip after trip to the neighborhood, spreadsheets of option costs and late night talks- we signed a contract on a new house. The neighborhood falls into the "New Urbanism" category where houses back up to alleys, canals border streets for kayaking and swimming, etc. The "downtown" is complete with Grocery Store, Ampitheather, restaurants and businesses. The goal- to be a walkable community.

Some call it the creepy Truman Show neighborhood, others say it is a scene out of Stepford Wives. We see it as a great place to raise a kid, meet great neighbors, live in a house that is architecturally interesting and break the stereotypical O'Fallon neighborhood. Oh and the shorter commute doesn't hurt :-)

Eeeks! There are closets to clean out, windows to wash, a realtor to find, paint to retouch, stuff to donate, junk to trash. Phew!

Send happy house selling vibes our way-

Notes- #3

Smiles after walking into a quiet, dark and sleeping house to see streamers and balloons across the kitchen on the eve of my birthday

The ease of dinner, conversation, laughs, and insight with a friend of 20 years- one of the true gifts I have received in life

Pondering what is in this red birthday giftbag on the kitchen counter- I don't dare take a peek

Anticipating the moment tomorrow morning when my son comes in my bedroom, makes me "close my eyes", takes my hand and leads me to my birthday surprise of decorations, cards and a gift- and you can guarantee I'll act as surprised and delighted tomorrow morning as I was when I walked in the door tonight. I'm a lucky wife and mom.

Notes- #2

The relief of getting in my vehicle and kicking my uncomfortable heels off and driving home barefoot

Enjoying an impromptu walk with the dog, son and umbrella in the rain

Watching the neighborhood dads come home from a golf tournament tipsy, yelling like frat boys and revving their cars- boys will always be boys

To whom it may concern...

Maybe you mean well, maybe you have an agenda, maybe you are merely curious or maybe you are just a jerk.
This I do know, you need to stop. Stop asking, commenting and inferring. STOP.

Stop what you ask?

"When are you having another kid?"
"Your son is 3, aren't you ready for another?"
"You can't deprive your son of a sibling"
"Doesn't he want a brother or sister?"
"You can't have just one"

So to the bagger at the grocery store, the nosy neighbor, the well-meaning coworkers, the frazzled moms, the bankteller and everyone else- STOP.

Frankly, it's none of your business. Do I ask you your reproductive status? Do I ask you why you had 5 kids? Do I ask you why you had none? Hell no.

So while strangers, coworkers, etc. discuss our one child state, I'm going to turn around and return back to my world I treasure. A loving husband, a son that makes me proud to be a mother and our rascal of a puppy. A world where my husband and I make decisions that are best for us, not what strangers expect us to do. However, if we ever decide we will rely on others to make life decisions for us at least I know where to go- the grocery store.