It's Time for Hockey!

That scream you heard from my kitchen tonight??

It was from my girls when Chris told them our Huntsville Havoc hockey tickets came in the mail today.

You would have thought he had told them the Jonas Brothers were walking in the door. They squealed with delight, jumping up and down screaming.

AC is serious about her hockey. Tonight Chris was flipping through the channels and landed on ESPN showing football highlights.

"Daddy!" she said. "I don't want to watch football!"

"What do you want to watch?" I said.

"The NHL," she answered, I kid you not. "Put it on hockey, daddy."

She is not my child.

Speaking of my kids, LB and I made an impromptu trip to Red Robin for lunch today. We sat across from each other and played our usual game of "I Spy" while we waited on our food. As I watched her I said, "God, thank you for her."

My heart was so full of how much I love her, and that was just the best way I knew to sum it up.

Our food came, and she started eating her mac and cheese. She was eating like a champ.

In between shoving spoonfuls in her mouth she said, "Mommy, guess what?"

"What?" I asked.

"I love you," she said.

It wasn't sappy. She didn't say it sweetly or full of emotion like Ann Catherine would.

She said it so matter-of-factly, as if she was saying 'the sky is blue' or 'I'm 3-years-old.'

Because that's my Lily Baker. She means what she says and says what she means. No fanfare. No fireworks. Just "I love you" with a mouth full of mac and cheese.

Man, do I love her too.

Homecoming!

You know how when you love something, you want to share it with your kids?

That's how I feel about the University of Alabama. I grew up an Alabama fan and loved my four years as a student there. In turn, I love sharing that with my girls. I love taking them on campus for football weekends and showing them around. If you loved your college years and your school, then I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about!

We went down for Homecoming this weekend. We left early Friday afternoon so we could take it all in. Chris has never been to the Paul W. Bryant Museum and he has always wanted to go. We were going to try and get there in time to do that, but we didn't. But since we arrived so early, we decided to take the girls for a walk on campus.

First, we went to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Lily Baker has never been to a game because she is really scared of loud noises. We're thinking 101,000 screaming fans would probably freak her out. :) So I wanted to take her inside so she could see it.

Just one problem. You can't just walk inside BDS. Unless you know people. And luckily, at just the right time, someone walked up that we know. And before we knew it, we were ushered in. Perfect timing!





Next we took the girls to the Walk of Champions. The girls posed with Bear Bryant's statue...



...and then acted crazy on the spot where Coach Saban's statue will go one day. I'm sure he would be amused. :)





That night we went to the Pep Rally and bonfire. I didn't bother taking my camera because I knew the pictures wouldn't turn out that great in the dark. AC loved watching, LB not so much. Again, that whole loud noise thing just unnerves her.

The next day was the parade! Now that ESPN rules the world, the majority of college football games are at night. Our Homecoming game was an 8 p.m. game! Because that is just too late for our girls, we sold our tickets. However, the one good thing was that the Homecoming parade was at 12 p.m. as opposed to 9 a.m. Love sleeping late!












The neatest part for me was seeing my Aunt Sue and Uncle Terry, who flew in from Texas to watch the game. It was so good seeing them!



Janna, my college roommate, and her family met us after the parade and we walked over to our sorority house. I love walking down Sorority Row at Homecoming and checking out the lawn decorations.



Later that afternoon, we left Tuscaloosa in time to drive home, put our girls to bed, and watch the Bama-Ole Miss game on television.

Perfect weekend :)

Firefighter LB to the Rescue!

The fire truck came to Lily Baker's school Friday. She got her own firefighter's hat and now she's hooked!

So we spent the morning playing "Firefighter Lily Baker." LB repeatedly ran to the playroom to rescue Big Bird and Bunny. (I was her partner, but without the cool hat.) They are so lucky to have her :)





Then we played school and SHE got to be the teacher because Ann Catherine is at school. It's part of the struggle of being the youngest. You NEVER get to be the teacher. :)

Small Blessing is Huge for Me

Ask Ann Catherine who Melissa is and you'll get the same answer: our angel.

She rarely says she's her sister. I remember when I first started calling Melissa her sister, she would say, "You mean Lily Baker?"

Her mind couldn't comprehend it. After all, Melissa died when they were babies. She's never physically seen her or played with her. She couldn't make the connection that Melissa was her sister.

And I've always been fine with that. As I've shared before, Chris and I don't push our girls when it comes to Melissa. They will eventually learn and understand everything. We let them take it in at their own pace.

So imagine my joy the other day when the following conversation took place in our car. Ann Catherine was saying that she wished her cousin, Ally, was her sister too. I explained to her that sometimes God puts people in our lives who aren't our blood sisters, but who feel like sisters anyway because of the closeness we shared. I told her that she and Ally have that same kind of relationship.

"But, mom," she said, "if Ally was my sister then I would have four sisters."

It took me a moment to realize what she was saying.

Four sisters. She was including Melissa.

My eyes filled with tears as I realized she's getting it. I didn't have to remind her that Melissa was her sister. She just knew.

I was filled with gratitude for a God who makes all things perfect in his time.

P.S. You Should Get Away Too

I will never forget the first time Chris proposed we get away - just the two of us.

Ann Catherine was six-months-old, just four months removed from her 68 day stay in the NICU. His company was having a Christmas party at Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham on a Friday night. The following Saturday the guys would play golf and the women would visit the spa. He wanted to go and have Ann Catherine stay at my parents house for the night.

I looked at him like he had three heads.

No way, I said. I was not ready to leave her for the night yet. He said we needed to get away and I told him he was crazy.

So we drove to Birmingham for the party and drove back that night. And I slept under the same roof as my daughter.

We didn't get away for the first time until Ann Catherine was two and Lily Baker was nine-months-old. And he had to trick me into that vacation. He planned to whisk me away to South Beach for a long weekend after the 2nd annual Swim for Melissa. He booked the flight, booked the hotel and lined up my parents to keep the girls. And he didn't tell me until the day before. He knew I would protest and say we couldn't leave the girls. And I did.

I was a nervous wreck that night. What if something happened to my girls while I was gone? What if they needed me? I knew they were in the best hands with my parents, but still, they were my babies!

But, as soon as our plane lifted off, I felt a weight drop off my shoulders. I needed to get away. WE needed to get away.

Since then, we've gotten away four other times: two long weekends in Asheville and Atlanta, a week in Napa Valley this summer for our 10th anniversary and our recent short trip to Amelia Island.

I thought about this the other night when I posted about our recent trip. And I want to say this to the moms who read my blog, especially those with young children.

Go somewhere with your husband. Even if just for one night.

When I go away with Chris alone, I remember some of those reasons why I fell in love with him in the first place: because he makes me laugh harder than anyone I've ever known, because he always opens my car door, because he sings while he's driving like nobody's business, and because, at the end of the day, he just plain loves me.

He loved me before we created three beautiful children, and as he loves to remind our girls, he'll love me long after they fly the coop.

As much as we love our children, we all need a break. Especially those of us with small children. I joked in my previous post about not being able to go to the bathroom alone during the day, but it's true. I'll never forget that trip to South Beach in 2007. I woke up that first morning and realized something: I didn't have to do anything for anyone. I didn't have to change diapers, make a bottle, make breakfast, nothing. I just laid there and relaxed. It was awesome.

Yes, I have anxiety the days leading up to leaving my children. And sometimes I even have guilt. But when I come home, I'm ready to tackle motherhood again. The break is good for me and it's good for my kids. We've only done it five times in five years, and we should probably make an effort to get away more often. But when you have little ones, you just do the best you can.

So try to get away - even if it's just for one night. I think it makes you a better mommy, better wife and a better person.

If nothing else, you'll get to use the bathroom alone. :)

Our Short Getaway

Chris and I just returned from a wedding on Amelia Island.

It was a wonderful getaway for us. Both of us got to fulfill dreams:

1. Chris got to play golf at TPC Sawgrass
2. I went to the Spa at the Ritz Carlton

(Okay, okay - so some of my dreams are completely superficial. What can I say??)

My hubby surprised me by booking a massage and manicure for me the morning of the wedding (while he was playing golf at Sawgrass). To quote my girls' favorite children's character, Fancy Nancy, "Ooh La La!" The massage was fabulous. After that, I drove back downtown to Fernandina Beach and walked around the Arts Festival. Then I had lunch outside overlooking the water. I took my book and read while I ate. It was Heaven. Someone asked me the day before if I would be okay by myself. My response? I have young children. I can't even go to the bathroom alone. I could not have been happier to be alone. :)

Instead of staying on the beach, Chris opted for the downtown area of Fernandina Beach when booking our reservations. We can visit the beach anytime. He knew that I would love visiting the unique shops in the beautiful downtown area. And he was right! Just this month, the downtown area of FB was in Southern Living as the "number one small town weekend getaway." You southern ladies know, if Southern Living says it, it must be true! And to suggest otherwise is just plain wrong.



(This is my very bad attempt to recreate the picture that was in Southern Living!)

There were some hilarious moments on this trip. Highlights include:

1. Our rental car.

We went to Priceline to get the best deal and asked for a full-sized sedan. Boy did we get one. I'm not going to name it, just in case any of you have one, but let's just say we were the only couple under 75 driving it. The look on the bellhops faces when I pulled into the Ritz to valet park and got out of that boat was priceless.

2. Even when your kids aren't with you, they leave little reminders for you.

I have a small Louis Vuitton purse that I use for weddings or occasions where I need a small purse. When I'm not using it, Ann Catherine likes to walk around the house with it on her shoulder. On the way to the wedding party on Friday night, I reached into the purse for my lipstick and pulled out an Ariel wand. Chris and I got a good laugh out of that.

3. It's always more fun at Mimi and Poppy's house

Ann Catherine got on the phone Friday night and giggling so hard she could barely talk, she told me, "We're eating chocolate, drinking Dr. Pepper and staying up late!" Good for them. That's what you're supposed to do at your grandparent's house.

As much fun as we had, the best moment for me occurred when we got home. The look on Ann Catherine's face when she saw me at the airport absolutely melted my heart. As long as I live, no one will ever be so glad to see me.

It's what I love about being a mommy :)

Perfect Fall Day

We finally got out of the house with the girls this week. On the way home from Tuscaloosa Sunday night, Ann Catherine started feeling bad. Once we got home, she had a 102 fever! A trip to the doctor the next morning confirmed strep throat. What a great way for her to start her fall break!

The doctor gave me the option of a shot or ten days of an antibiotic. I opted for the shot, and although it was traumatic for AC, it was completely worth those thirty seconds of discomfort. She was back to herself within a few hours!

Chris took today off and we gave the girls a list of choices of what to do. They both enthusiastically chose the Scarecrow Trail at the Botanical Gardens. And the treehouses from this spring were still up, so that was an added surprise! The weather was perfect and we had the best time!












After this, we headed to Bridge Street for lunch and more fun. I decided to leave my camera in the car so I could just be in the moment with my kids. I briefly regretted this decision when we got on the carousel ride with the girls and Chris got in the teacup with Lily Baker. Just seeing him squeezed into that teacup was hilarious! We capped it off with cookies and throwing pennies into the wishing well. It was truly one of the best days I've had in a while!