27 things that made yesterday amazing.

1. It was my birthday.

2. Kicking P90x trash at 6:00am

3. Eating the husband’s delectable pancake breakfast.

4. Hearing my mom’s voice on the other end of the line, bright and early, wishing me a happy day.

5. Seeing the “it’s your birthday” grin pasted across Atrain’s face all day long, and relishing Jdog’s oblivious happiness.

6. My new blue nail polish selected by my boys.

7. Lingering a little longer in the shower while the husband did the dishes.

8. Blow drying my hair with my new, digital ion explosion dryer. I’ve always wondered how many watts of power are shooting at my stubborn strands.

9. Receiving cheery bday messages from friends.

10. Wearing the shirt I bought myself last weekend.

11. Taking off to shop for new running shoes with Atrain while Jdog slept with the husband.

12. Getting my battery booted for free by the campus police.

13. Trying on the five finger (toe) running shoes and igniting a new sporting desire.

14. Getting my battery booted (again) by the kind man who heard me trying to talk the Jiffy Lube guys into reviving my dead battery to make one last trip to the repair shop.

15. Making my fifth call to my father to inquire about my minor car emergency, and knowing by the unconditional delight in his voice how much he loves me (even though he was yet to wish me happy birthday).

16. How the husband was so happy to drop everything and accompany me to the mechanic, and then to a clothing store, and then to the D.I.

17. Snagging (not steeling) a sweet brass stag statue from the D.I. “collectibles” department.

18. Catching a “Whinney the Pooh” matinee with the boys and giggling at Atrain who was giggling his way through the opening scenes.

19. Taking a wiggly Jdog out of the theater to wander around the Sugarland strip mall. I scored a couple dirt cheap sale basketball outfits for the boys, and a couple new necklaces for myself.

20. When my phone rang and I heard my father in law and my father on the other end, singing me “happy birthday.” My dad had gone in for an appointment at the Doc’s (father in law’s) office. Hearing their voices made me laugh, and smile, and wonder why I’ve been so blessed by such great examples in my life.

21. Feeling completely and totally pampered at home. The husband and the boys fixed dinner and cleaned up afterwards while I did whatever I wanted without feeling even a bit guilty.

22. Eating my third helping of my birthday “cake,” the husband’s incredible Mango sticky rice dish. Mmmmm. I couldn’t stop. Not today.

23. Putting the boys in bed and hearing Atrain’s sweet “It was such a beautiful day today,” wishes.

24. Sitting next to the husband to watch my new HD video camera in action on youtube and dreaming about the day when we’ll take it snorkeling on some incredible stretch of shore.

25. Thanking the husband for the generous gift of time he’s promised—three weeks of writing time, to be exact. That’s a lot. I let him know that if it doesn’t work out, it will be ok. But, he’s determined. And, I’m thrilled beyond measure. I doubt I’ll knock out a book in three weeks, but maybe I’ll get a good start on my novel dreams.

26. Snuggling with my man on the couch and having free reign of the remotes. I chose to watch a few more episodes of Friday Night Lights. So good.

27. Sitting down to write about the year, reflect on my goals and read a few scriptures. I realized again—just like I do whenever I sit to write—how much God is guiding my life.

Happy Birthday to Me

This was a big day—the day I became a 27 year old. Twenty six was a good year. I became a mother of two. I potty trained my toddler. I ran a half marathon. I fell in love with sweet baby J. I swam in the Gulf Coast with my three boys. I made a goal to translate my muddled mind on this blog every day of the year, and in some decent percentage, I’ve succeeded. I struggled. I rejoiced. I cried. I laughed. I sought answers. I found some. And I decided to make my next year better than the last.

I think that acceptance will help me on this quest. I'm going to accept myself, my life, my ups and downs for what they are, and then I'm going to move forward. I'm banishing my days of festering about the messes I've made--and I make a lot of them...with help. I'm doing away with the my worries about people caring whether or not the contents of my cupboards are strewn across my counter because one of my little cabinets decided to divorce itself from the wall. Nope. Not this year. That was so immature.

This year there will be less "expectance" and more acceptance. Less muddling and more puddling. And, maybe a few more pictures to go along with it all. Happy birthday, MJ. This will be a great year.

I've Earned It.

I cried within an hour of waking up today. I've felt a little lousy lately: expecting much more of myself and missing most of my marks. The husband suggested that I ease up, and he's probably right. So, I let go of a little expectation for the day, even though it's hard to forget how far behind I feel. I'm glad I put it aside and went to work. I don't think that's the best cure for the "lousy lately" blues, but it does help.

Last weekend was wonderful. The husband and I rented the Schwinn Tango, a tandem bike, and rode it around town (thank you Milly for taking the kids and making our bike date possible). Some people call tandem bikes "divorcycles," but I'm happy to say we are still married. We were a perfectly nerdy pair as we cruised into the annual medical school BBQ on the tandem. I love the husband's unabashed approach to my ideas. He dives in, 100%, unquestioning. We had a good time--especially as we huffed back up the hills to our home. He somehow made me feel like I was pulling my own weight too. I don't want to own a tandem, but I do look forward to biking by the husband's side some day.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Tonight at my staff meeting one of my coworkers asked how old I am going to be. "Twenty seven," I said with confidence, just before someone said how rude it is to ask a girl her age. "It's ok," I said, "I'm turning twenty seven and I've earned it." Tomorrow will be a great day.

Congratulations

I just wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate the husband, who is the proud new owner of a sweet second-hand Cervelo bike frame. You waited long and hard for this moment in your life to arrive and I'm so privileged to be a part of it. I really can't wait to ride beside you on my new-to-me-hand-me-down Bottechia frame. Please don't leave me in the dust.

I would also like to announce that I drove my first successful stint on a motorcycle tonight. I won't go into all of the details of my first unsuccessful moment on a motor-bike. But, it was in front of my future husband and I did break the mirror off of my dad's vintage bike. Oops. Tonight's ride was much, much better than that one. This must mean I'm becoming more controlled and balanced in my old age. Yes, I'm sure that's what it means.

To Dine For.

I ate out three times today. It was spectacular.

Meal #1: The husband and I took our rented tandem bike up the canyon to Ruth's diner for brunch. Famous mile high biscuits always taste like heaven, but this morning they were especially celestial as I sat beside my love. We listened to the running brook outback and wondered what our lives will be like in another year. He even switched me plates--strait up--when he noticed how much I was eyeing his order. The two best things about getting older are: having an occasion to justify restaurant patronage, and knowing that I'm getting older with my man.

Meal #2: Did I mention that Milly took the boys last night? She is a saint. Whenever I ask her how the boys were she always says, "they were perfect," and nothing more, even though it wasn't long after I picked up the boys that I discovered Atrain's urine scented PJs in his bag, and possibly another pair of pants as well. But, I guess he is perfectly par for the three year old course. Once we reunited with the husband, we headed to our church group's pool party, where Atrain took the biggest dare of his life. After careful analysis of the large, steep water slide, he boarded it by himself and catapulted down into the husband's arms. But, it wasn't before he braced his arms and legs against either side of the slide and warped his face into a mean interpretation of "the scream." Surprisingly, he wasn't too shaken by the crash at the bottom. After I helped him regain his courage, he continued to dunk the husband repeatedly from the diving board. And then I ate the best meat balls I've ever had, courtesy of our high councilman, who also sells salsa at Cosco. MMmmmm.

Meal #3: My third dining experience was with my sisters--all four of them. Oh wait, one of them is actually my mom, but no one is ever able to tell. She loves it. I would too. The company made the food delectable. I simply can't understand why the husband hates sharing restaurant dishes. Food is so much better when you can try a little bit of everything. With five girls around a table, our forks are constantly tasting and trading through everyone else's order. I love our conversations even more than our annoying dinner habits. We refreshed Allerina on all of our "good old" stores: about how Bambie pretended she was in a gang, and how I had a sixth sense about whether or not someone had set foot in my room, and how Katydid once painted her entire bathroom in baby blue clouds--window sill and all. And, of course, about how we have wonderful concerned parents who read our journals to spy on us (actually, that was really just Bambie's journal because my life wasn't "interesting enough" to have to check up on it...I still can't decide whether or not that was a compliment). However, I'm sure she wishes she could read them now.

First Draft

We finally finished the first draft of the husband's personal statement for his residency application tonight. Phew. Now we just have to finish the second and third and fourth...It's hard to believe we're actually here again. But, I have to admit that it feels a lot better to be writing, "I want to become a radiation oncologist because...." rather than "I want to become a medical student because..." Not that I'm actually doing either. It's a WE thing. Just like we are writing his personal statement. Wow. We are almost done.

Blankey Boy

Our little baby J is changing every day. He wakes up with bright eyes and a happy heart, pointing his little chubby finger at everything--ready to show us his new tricks. If I only had a dollar for every time the husband says, "That little Jdog is such a good baby," then we could pay off our student loans. Almost.

Little J has always been a texture guy. He loves to feel things--scratching walls, furniture, carpet, my face (ouch), and he loves to try to pick apart anything that is crocheted. Since birth whenever he eats he's so interested in scratching me that it is rather painful, so I always tried to keep a blanket nearby to keep his hand occupied. And, he's developed an attachment. And it's adorable.

He doesn't show a preference for any particular blanket yet. He has a few favorites--the soft ones. He grabs a wad of the furry fabric with both hands and stuffs it into his mouth and smiles. The other day at the grocery store I had him in a frenzy of giggles as I let him stuff his blanket into my mouth. This kid is too cute.

Today when he awoke I heard him jabbering in his playpen. I sat there listening his his amazing little noises for a few minutes before I went in to get him. It's still sort of crazy to me that his favorite sound is "sssss." It's just so effortless. When I opened the door he crawled over to the crib side, stood up and reached for me. Then, I asked him, "Where's you're blankey baby?" He immediately dropped down, crawled over to his fuzzy green comfort cloth, and clenched onto it with both hands. I picked him and the blanket up and he was as happy as a baby could be.

That is, until, Atrain began experimenting with Jdog's tolerance. Atrain grabbed the blanket from him and then gave it back, and then repeated the teasing until baby J had had enough. He crawled right over to big brother and lunged for the blankey. I was like watching a a baby seal belly flop onto a slab of ice. Atrain was a little surprised by Jdog's sudden surge of confidence. So was I. We all laughed a little before I parted the two boys and congratulated Jdog on winning moves. He smiled as he snuggled his face right into his blanket. It's so sweet to have a little blankey boy.