A Wonderful Mother's Day Weekend

What a truly special Mother's Day I had this year. Phillip and my little ones went out of their way to make the entire weekend one to remember. It all began when I picked up Isabella from preschool late last week and was presented with my very first handmade Mother's Day gift.


Isabella and her teacher, Mrs. Juanita, made me this little flower. Isabella hand-painted the flower and little pot all by herself. She was so proud of it, she wanted to take it with her when I put her down for her nap. I managed to sneak this photo without waking her.

Next, Sophia made my Mother's Day extra special by taking her first continuous steps. She had already been taking one or two steps at a time, but last week she finally decided it was time to walk. Phillip managed to get one photo of her in action. Notice the blur behind her as she moved. My life is about to get even busier.

Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast as a family, as we usually do. We love to take Isabella to McDonald's. She plays on the slide and then runs by our table every few minutes for a forkful of gravy and biscuits, her very favorite food.


Next, we went to Lowe's to buy flowers for our front flower beds. We let Isabella choose one special flower of her own to take care of. She chose a very pretty yellow one, which we planted right in the middle (where she told us to, of course). Isabella had a wonderful time digging with her pink trowel and watering everything but the flowers with her pink watering can. It was a very special thing to work in the yard for the first time as a family.

While the girls were asleep, Phillip brought me a bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day. He chose the white roses and purple penstemons himself. They made a beautiful spring arrangement.


After the girls got up from their naps, we went to mom and dad's house for dinner.


The girls had a ball riding the four-wheeler with their Daddy and Pappy.




The next morning we went to church. Phillip ordered my favorite Chinese take-out for lunch, and while we waited, we took some family pictures around the church after the parking lots cleared.







After the girls' nap, we visited with Phillip's mom and dad for a little while and then took the girls to the park. Sophia had a ball watching her big sister from her wagon seat and Isabella kept her daddy busy on the swings and slides.



After the girls went to bed, Phillip grilled steaks for dinner and we settled in to watch Desperate Housewives together. It was truly a very special weekend. I feel so blessed to have my little family and I know I will cherish these memories forever.

A Singular Sense of Style

"Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess."

~Edna Woolman Chase, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Magazine, 1914-1952

Look out, Paris and Milan! Isabella Madeline is ready to walk the runway and show the dreadful designers of the fashion world a thing or two about style.

First, forget Manolo Blahnik. The trendy footwear for this summer season is a pair of chunky, pink ski boots. They are the perfect shoe for any girl about to hit the park for an afternoon of swinging, sliding and sidewalk-chalk-drawing. And don't forget your bubbles! They are a much more functional accessory than last-year's designer diaper bag.

Second, make sure you have a variety of hair accessories. These funky little clips are available in a wide array of colors to match nearly any set of play clothes, and they're easy enough for the tiniest toddler to use. They are completely suitable for playground and playdate alike.

Third, never forget your shades. Jimmy Choo has nothing over on these hip pink-and-green sunglasses with white daisy detail. This is the trend that will be sweeping the playgrounds this summer season.

Look, the trend is already spreading. You go, girl!

Fourth, it is a well-known modeling secret that wearing shoes that are a little too large can make our ankles appear smaller. Check out your very fashionable mommy's closet for a suitable pair. And don't be held back by tradition - wear them on the wrong foot if you want. It's all about the attitude!

Finally, keep in mind that all girls are princesses at heart, so pick your favorite Disney Diva and adopt her style as your own. After all, what girl doesn't want a fancy dress, a castle, and a handsome prince of her very own?

If you follow these easy steps, you will never again be the victim of another fashion faux pas. Isabella will be gracing the cover of Vogue any day, and I will be able to say, "I knew her when."

That is..."I knew her when she wanted to wear bunny ears to bed."

I'll Call It a "Rite of Passage" for Mommies

I've heard my friends talk about it. I've read about others' experiences of it in parenting magazines. I've even witnessed it firsthand. Somehow, however, I never thought I would get to that point in my child-rearing experience. Somehow, I thought my children would stay tiny and mute forever, or at least they would just know how to behave without me having to "shush" them under my breath.

Well, it has now happened to me. I am now one of the millions of mommies who must endure the potential humiliation on a semi-regular basis for the next few years at least. What, you may ask, is this dreaded experience to which I refer?

Taking a preschooler into a public restroom.

I vaguely recall those carefree days before babies when I could excuse myself to the ladies' room, go about my business, wash my hands, check my hair, freshen my lipstick, and return to my dinner companion or shopping cart in under five minutes. That is not the case now. No, now it is a far different experience altogether. Let me give you an example.

Today, I took Isabella and Sophia to Kohl's. As I was browsing the half-price picture frames, I decided to take a "quick" pit stop. I pushed my double stroller to Customer Service and into the ladies' restroom. This, by the way, is no easy job in and of itself. I love my double stroller, but when you are by yourself and attempting to move through any doorway, it might as well weigh 300 pounds and be the length of a railroad car.

Anyway, I made my way to the rear of the restroom to the handicapped stall, which is the only one large enough to accommodate my babies' behemoth ride. I carefully pushed them inside, taking care to park it just far enough away from both the wall and toilet seat, so that little hands couldn't touch anything even if they wanted to, which they did. I gave Isabella a stern warning not to put her hands on anything; Sophia just grinned open-mouthed, as usual.

Anyway, as I went about my business I was made privy to a point-by-point analysis by my eldest child of every sound that transpired. (My apologies to poor ladies who had to endure a critique of their business). The next few minutes went something like this:

(Woman enters restroom and chooses the stall next to ours)

Isabella: "You hear that?"

Mommy: "Yes, sweetheart, I do."

(Woman proceeds to do that which one is expected to do in a restroom)

Isabella: "You HEAR that?!"

Mommy: "Shhh, yes, sweetheart. Let's see if we can be quiet for a minute."

Isabella: "Mommy has to go potty!"

Mommy: "Yes, sweetheart, mommy does have to go potty. Let's talk about something else."

(Woman flushes toilet in the next stall)

Isabella: "Flush! Flush! Flush! YOU HEAR THAT!!!"

Mommy (as I take some toilet paper): "Yes, honey, that's a toilet flushing."

Isabella: "Mommy has toilet paper! Hi, toilet paper! Hi! Hello, toilet paper!"

Mommy (trying to leave as quickly as possible): "Okay, Isabella. Let's go bye-bye now. Mommy needs to wash her hands."

Isabella: "Is-bella wants to wash her hands, too. Is-bella wants to wash her hands, too. Is-bella wants to wash her hands, too..."

Mommy: "Okay, fine. Let me get you out of the stroller. Here, let me hold you up. Let's roll up your sleeves. Okay, here's some soap. Rub your hands together. No, don't splash the mirror. Yes, Isabella is pretty. Okay, here's a paper towel. Dry your hands. Let's get back into the stroller. No, you can't have princess cookies right now. Are you ladies ready to go?"

(Sophia just smiles open-mouthed, as usual, and I think to myself, "Uh-oh." I feel her pants and sure enough, I realize I can't leave the dreaded bathroom yet. You-know-who needs a diaper change. So, I unstrap Baby #2, change her diaper, and wash my hands again. All the while I acknowledge the empathetic looks cast my way by each and every woman who enters the restroom and witnesses me changing the diaper of one wiggly baby, carrying on a conversation with the second overly-verbose child and using my hot-pink-polished toes to scoot my mammoth stroller out of the way of each person who walks by. When I checked my watch, I discovered I had been in that torture chamber for nearly 15 minutes.

So much for my quick trips to the ladies' room.