Slipping Through My Fingers

Dear Annie,

Well baby girl, here we are. You're 3 years old now, which is really hard for me to believe! To say the last 3 years have been an adventure would be a massive understatement ... All the years and all the hoopla it took to bring you into this world -- well those memories are fading fast. Maybe because they don't matter as much as they used to. You're all that matters, even if I do wish being a mom came with some sort of instruction manual!

Oh the phases you've been through (and are going through!) Some days I just want to pull my hair out, but that feeling never really lasts that long. It's a feeling I've come to realize every mom has had and I guess a feeling I'll have LOTS more times! Still, when we're sitting on the bed and I'm painting your fingernails and you lean over and kiss me, I realize what's really important and I hope in some way you realize it, too. I love you. I love you always, and I can't even imagine what my life was like before you. I had no idea it was possible to love another human being in the all-consuming way I love you.

When I was younger, I wanted to move to New York and become a writer. I thought that would be such a cool thing to do ... Now I am so content when Daddy and I get to spend a day with you just doing simple things. Your sense of humor absolutely brings us such joy, especially when you do something like hop on our bed and do the Dora dance. You really do live life to the fullest, even at this young age.

And your heart ... well, I think you're going to be really tender-hearted like me and like your Pa, especially when it comes to animals. You love your "Mimi and Hopie" like nobody's business and you're so gentle with them and so kind. My heart melts when you go over to Mary and give her a kiss when she's on the couch asleep. God bless you for your sweet little heart ...

I have no idea what's in store for you, but as long as you're happy it's ok with me (within reason, of course!) I just hope you know how much we all love you and how that can never change, no matter what. And when I say we "all," you should know you have probably the best family God ever made behind you, and trust me when I say they will ALWAYS be there for you.

Happy birthday, baby ...

I love you, Annie, and I always, always will,
Mommy

So This Isn't About What I'm Wearing??

So we have a new saga in our lives ... the Hopie allergy drama. She's been seeing a doggie dermatologist (yes, you read that correctly) and had to go in Monday for allergy testing. Well this presented a huge wardrobe dilemma for me as I was not having a particularly good hair day and wanted to plunk my red washed-out denim bucket-type hat on my head ... I even had it in my hand to do just that when it hit me: what if I encountered a bull in the waiting room of the dermatologist? I just didn't feel inciting a riot would be a super start to the day.

In addition, there are a lot of birds who view red as a predatory color, and I did not want to be attacked by a murderous gang of blackbirds, macaws or the like. Oh, what to do, what to do, what to do? Go with so-so hair and put my focus back on poor Hopie who was facing a 6-hour day at the vet's full of shaving of her beautful fur and 70 needle pricks to determine her specific allergies or resume only focusing on myself?

I have to be honest; it was not an easy choice.

Let's just say, though, the red hat stayed home, and we didn't find any bulls or scary birds in the waiting room. Hope, however, is allergic to just about everything under the sun, and we're going back Monday so I can learn to give her allergy shots. Wow, that should be an adventure ...

In the meantime, Annie's 3rd birthday on Friday is just roaring towards us, and I keep wondering where all the time has gone? But that's another post altogether, isn't it?

Annie Barclay, Our New American Idol

Ah, our usual random images from the weekend ... the first few were after my shower and Annie's bath, and I'm honestly not sure whose hair was wilder!! The last few are of Annie singing into an early birthday gift from her most favorite babysitter (Kayla) ... it's a little American Idol karaoke-type toy which she LOVES!! And it's safe to say the child knows how to use a microphone!! It's also safe to say I'm waiting for my turn to sing, too!

Are You There, God? It's Me, Annie ...

So yesterday was Daddy Doughnut Day at Annie's Moms' Day Out Program, which I just realized is a fairly self-explanatory phrase ... Just for comparison, here's a picture of what she looked like about this same time last year:



And here's our baby girl yesterday:



And with the love of her life:



And with her current boyfriend at Moms' Day Out:



Yes, I did say her "current" boyfriend, and that sound you might hear in the background is Anthony measuring Annie for the habit she'll soon be wearing in the convent ...

A Time For All Things ...

Sometimes life is strange, isn't it?? Yesterday was a day that left me almost without words to describe it. I'll try, though. The pictures above are of Alex (Anthony's dog), and of Annie and Alex.

Alex was Anthony's dog before we got married. She was the most wonderful mutt of a dog with the sweetest disposition. I say "was" because she had to be put to sleep yesterday. But wow did she ever have a story.

First, Anthony had Alex, and it was just the two of them. Then I came along. Anthony and I dated, got engaged (Alex was the first to know), got married, then I moved in with my two cats (Sam and Katie, who also passed away in the past few months) and two birds (who also passed away over the years.) As my cousin was fond of saying, we had ourselves quite the zoo.

But a zoo wasn't enough for me. I felt Alex needed another dog-friend since everyone else in the house had a friend of their own kind. Enter sweet 6-week-old black lab Mary a mere two months after our marriage. So there we were: newlyweds with two dogs, two cats and two birds in a not-very-big starter house with orange shag carpeting which actually proved perfect for raising puppies. Yes, I said puppies. About four months after Mary came onto the scene, I found Hope, a homeless little border-collie mix puppy. I didn't call Anthony about bringing her home, I just put her in my car and took her straight to the vet for shots, etc.

After much coaxing, crying (me, not Anthony, who told me he liked Hope but didn't feel we needed any more animals at the zoo) and a bribe of new golf clubs for Anthony, Hopie came to live with us, too. Oh and somewhere along in here, one of my parakeets died, and I was so distraught about the situation (and the fact I couldn't properly bury her during my lunch hour because the shovel didn't work so great in the frozen ground) that I bought not one but TWO more parakeets. Yep, we now had three dogs, two cats and three birds.

Of course this situation wasn't bound to hold for long. For our first anniversary, we went to visit Anthony's brother in California, so my cats went to my mom and dad's to stay while we were gone. Well, as most of you know, they never did come back to live with us but lived VERY happily at Mom and Dad's. Exit two members of the zoo.

Also around this time, I think Alex had pretty much had enough. So to make a really long story a tiny bit shorter, she went to live with Anthony's parents, where she also lived VERY happily. That dog, that wonderful, beautiful dog, touched so many people's lives while she was here. I personally will always miss her for so many reasons ... she was technically my first dog ever and she'll always be so much a part of my history with Anthony. Not to mention that whenever we go home and we're at Anthony's parents' house, I'll still be looking for her to come sit by me.

I'll always be waiting for her to come sit by me ...

Yesterday was also my dad's birthday, which I am so glad we got to spend with him! He and Mom were in town for a few days, so Annie and I went to their condo yesterday, and we all had breakfast together at a great little place in Franklin. Then back to the condo for playtime and hiding eggs for Annie (about a million times!) It was great fun ...

We had a cook-out at our house to continue the birthday celebration, and the pictures from that are below. There are also a couple of random ones from the last few days of Annie and Mary ...

Spring ... Really?

Well, I feel it is time to write a short treatise on the current weather situation. Now it is important to note that I have spent the past several days trying to be a non-self-involved person, one who realizes the weather is simply an inconsequential portion of the day and keeping it all in perspective. For example, I have used some of the following as my mantras:

"Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods."

"Rain, rain go away, come again another day."

"Rain keeps the earth hydrated and healthy."

"Cold and misty grossness are simply a part of spring."

"At least we're perhaps better off than those people who live in that place where it's only daylight for half of the year or something similar."

"Ok, seriously, it's spring. Where's the sunshine?"

Alright, alright, I admittedly fell off the weather wagon there towards the end, but let's face facts. I am really NOT so much of a non-self-involved person, and the current weather is getting super old. It's SPRING!! Doesn't that imply running through meadows in the glorious sunshine, not digging out sweaters, sweatshirts and the like?

Has anyone notified Nashville and the surrounding areas that spring has sprung?

Apologies to Readerdom

Ok, so here are a million pictures of the past several days (hanging around the house, Annie's bathtime, friends over for dinner, church, a Vanderbilt baseball game with Annie dancing in the stands, etc.) to make up for the hideousness of my recent lack of blogging. Sorry, dear faithful readers! (and, yes, I know there are a few of you out there in readerdom!!)

Hope you enjoy the pictures ...