Lots of Things

So I guess that would be me, about as close to normal as I'll see for a while. I broke down and bought some size 10 shorts for myself so I could be comfortable and not wear maternity clothes all summer long. The crazy part is--I'm just about to my "normal" weight, but still 3 sizes bigger, so I guess I lost a lot of muscle mass and replaced it with fat. *sigh* Check out those arms, though, they're getting some tone again! Nothing like bouncing a baby/carrying around a carseat all day to build upper body strength! And I'm considering at least 8 lbs to be breast. Gotta love breastfeeding--the only time in my life I'll actually have some chest to show off!

Tomorrow is GraceAnne's 4th birthday party. *sniff* I can't believe she is so big and so grown-up. On the other hand, I have a hard time believing she's only 4. Sometimes I expect way too much of her. Yesterday we had a dramatic day. I flipped a little too hard about the way she was eating her lunch, (like a pig, really), and she sassed me and I yelled at her for that and then she cried and then I cried and then...well...I told her not to be like mommy. That it's not cute to sass or be a brat and that mommy is not nice and not a very good example and that she should be like Miss Betty. (Miss Betty is her Sunday School teacher and she's probably the most patient, kind, loving person in GraceAnne's life.) So a little while later she was still eating and I was cleaning the kitchen and she showed me a woodpecker and I got all excited like a proper mommy of a 3-year-old should be and I went back to my duties and she said, "Mommy, I love you." I told her I love her too and she BEAMED and said, "SEE, MOM!! You ARE nice!" So of course I ran over and held her and stroked her hair and told her I was sorry and cried like a big baby. She patted my back and I lost it even more. I can't believe what a wretched mother I am sometimes. I could use prayers for patience, because I have none most of the time and it leaks over onto my family in a big way.

Anyway, I'm super excited about her party and so is she! We're going to Chick-fil-A and the kids will all play and have chicken nuggets. Of course I will post pictures of the birthday girl tomorrow and her cake. It was so obviously designed by a 3-year-old! It's going to be SO BUSY, but she's absolutely thrilled with it, so it's fine by me! For her actual birthday, which is on Father's Day this year, (HOW COOL IS THAT!?), we're going to the Fort Worth zoo. Allan and GraceAnne have never been there and it's a lot more user friendly than the Dallas zoo, (read: Allan will have an easier time walking all over the place there), because it's smaller, flatter and shadier.

Also, our anniversary is coming up on the 21st. I'm excited, because I have an awesome surprise afternoon date planned! *shhhhhhh!* But I'm embarrassed to say it's only our 2 year anniversary. That seems insane, given we've built a life together and it has certainly taken longer than 2 years! So just to justify myself, (or maybe condemn myself??), I will say this: August 20th is the 5 year anniversary of our being introduced. Yeah, you can do a little math if you want, I don't mind...God had bigger plans for us than we had for ourselves at the time.

Well, Miss GraceAnne just woke up, so it's time to make breakfast. Hope all is well with everyone, we love and miss you all!