expressions of love

One of the most fulfilling things about being a wife and a mother is knowing that I'm loved. Despite my faults and imperfections, I am confident in knowing that my husband and children love me. Granted, there are days, weeks even, where I feel under-appreciated and taken for granted by my family. I know this happens unintentionally, and I'm just as guilty anyone, but I think mothers and wives tend to take the brunt of it. Life just happens, sort of takes control, and you feel like you're forgotten in the middle of all the chaos.

But then, out of nowhere, chubby little arms hug your legs. You look down to meet your child's face and see that cheesy little grin smiling at you. This hug lasts only a moment, but it's in that fleeting moment that you remember you're loved.

I love those moments. I love these moments:

My little Chloe, staring at me with her bright blue eyes, gives me the sweetest little smiles. It's in her gazes and her smiles....That's how I know she loves me. Baby love is so innocent and so real. It has yet to be tarnished by life's imperfections.

Lying next to Britten, having snuggle time before bed, she reaches up to my face and starts tickling my cheeks: "I like you, Mommy. I like you soooooo much!"

Ella walks up to me, out of nowhere, and says: "You're so beautiful, Mommy." I ask, do you know what "beautiful" means, Ella? She says, "It means, I love you." What a perfect interpretation of beauty.

My husband, a man of few words. I've learned recently that actions DO speak louder than words, at least in his case. He has this thing about hitting my...clearing throat...bottom. He does it all. the. time. and it's the most irritating thing in the world. He'll hit me with his hand, he'll snap me with towels, he'll clock me with a brush. He's even taught my girls to do it, and now I'm getting it from everyone!

A few weeks back, I had had it! It was after about the 10th swat when I responded by throwing something back at him (not my proudest moment, I'll admit).

"Do you realize how much I HATE it when you do that?!?!"

"Yes, I do." He responds, with a smirk on his face.

"Then, WHY?! WHY do you keep doing it, when you know I HATE it?!"

"It's my way of showing you I love you." He simply responds. And he meant it. That made me smile, despite the inner rage I was feeling at the moment. It really IS his way. Bummer. Now I have no choice but to let it happen. The things you do for love. The sacrifices are endless. ;)

So amongst our crazy lives, our busy days and hectic schedules, it is in these small, but meaningful moments, that I know I'm loved. I am not forgotten.

daddy daycare

While Daddy was spending some quality time with this little one in the living room...

...Our two budding artists were taking advantage of this by giving a new meaning to body art!

snow, snow GO AWAY!

Ella's response to the sight of snow on the ground this morning:

"Ugh! It snowed again! God is funny! We need to go into the sky and tell Him to stop making it snow!"

She turns to me and says:

"Blog that, Mommy."

I'm serious. Those are the exact words that came out of her 4 year old mouth.

my mango

Mangos are my new favorite fruit. Nothing can beat the taste of a fresh, ripe, juicy mango. I LOVE them. But I guess you could say I have a love/hate relationship with mangos. For as much as I love the flavor, I hate the mess they make, or should I say I make, while trying to cut and slice them up. I've literally Googled "How to cut a mango" online and have yet to master the skill without leaving a juicy mess all over the counter and wasting half of the fruit trying to cut around the oblong seed!

A few weeks ago, I decided to temporarily stop buying mangos. When it comes to buying fruit, they are on the more expensive side. I couldn't justify the price when I felt I was wasting so much of the fruit and leaving such a mess in the process. I was done. I was going on a "Mango Strike."

That is, until I was walking through the fruit section at Byerly's and came across the following handy, dandy notebook tool, called the Mango Splitter:

Listed for $9.99, I thought it was a little spendy. But if it guaranteed satisfaction (which it did!) and promised to successfully remove the mango seed (which it did!) with ONE simple press (which it did!), I was ALL for investing that sort of money into the Mango Splitter! I was so excited. I dropped it into my cart, along with a mango, and headed to the check out counter.

I'm an impatient person, so the second I walked in the door from the store, I HAD to try out my new purchase. I rinsed the mango, washed the mango splitter with warm, soapy water (like they suggested), laid out my cutting board and went to town:

In one simple press (like they promised!), I was able to slice the fruit in half around the seed!

It left me with 2 beautiful "mango boats"....

...and one ugly seed, that I instantly threw in the garbage!

I sliced them, cubed them, and ate them right up! YUM! It had been too long!

My "Mango Strike" is officially over, thanks to my new Mango Splitter!

fountain grocery check-out lane of youth

After a 45 minute trip through the grocery store with all three of my children, I had just about had it! Ella and Britten were crawling all over the cart, running down aisles, and had their hands all over everything. Chloe started getting fussy towards the end and wanted out of her car seat. I intended to bring the baby carrier with me in the store, but decided against it last minute. Why is hindsight always 20/20?

By the time I pushed the cart into the check-out lane, I was a frazzled mess. My hair was all over the place, I hadn't showered in a couple of days and I was wearing my work-out clothes from my earlier run. Did I mention I was a mess?

As I was rounding up the troops and packing my groceries, the gal that checked my groceries said:

"You don't look old enough to be the mother of these children. In fact, you look like you could pass for their age!"

(Hmmmm....4 years old, 2 years old and 5 months old....)

"Really?!" I asked, a little caught off guard. "Wow. I guess it'd be nice to be 4 for a day again!"

Check-out gal: "Okay, maybe not young enough to be 4, but you could certainly pass for their sister!"

That makes a little more sense, but there's still a 24 year age gap between me and Ella! But I'd take the comment for what it was worth and consider it a refreshing compliment!

Thank you, check-out gal, for making my grocery shopping experience a little brighter!

oh where, oh where has my little phone gone?

I searched high and low and low and high and I could not find it anywhere!  By it, I mean my cell phone.  It was gone. G-O-N-E.  I checked all the usual places.  My purse(s), my coat pockets, the van, my bedroom, the kitchen counter, on top the bread box, under my bed, under my pillow (I put it there at night when my husband travels) and any other place I could possibly think of.   It was nowhere to be found and I was becoming more and more frustrated by the minute!  

Little did I know, that moments before I launched my little search, someone's little hands found my little phone. and these same little hands decided it would be fun to find a nice little place for Mommy's little phone:   

But at least the little stinker (Britten), when asked about my phone, brought me over to the Exersaucer and showed me right where she put it!  It was actually a clever little spot, if you ask me, but probably not the best place for my little phone.  

the child was nestled all snug in her bed...

...while visions of sugarplums danced in...

...Britten jumped on her head.

Sadly, this was not a vision. This was reality. Britten, did in fact, jump into the crib on top of Chloe's head. While Chloe was peacefully napping in her crib the other day, Britten decided it was time to play. I'm not sure Chloe agreed.