Overheard (or seen)

Mommy to Duke upon pickup at daycare tonite:

"Ms. Jordan will get you some more snack before we leave, (as Ms. Jordan hands Duke the cup of animal crackers), what do you say?"

Duke:

Signs his hand across his chest for "please!" (for the first time!)

All Mommy hoped for was a thank you, since he knows that sign. First time I've seen him respond to a question other than Eat? with sign language!

These are the days I live for!

Facelift Needed, Any ProBono Surgeons?

I'm not exactly looking for a facelift...more like a "shape"lift, "style"lift. I went shopping last Sunday for a whole 2 hours without kids, which was fantastic, except that I spent the entire time trying on clothes and then second guessing every choice and ultimately walked out of The Gap with yet another "favorite T" in white.

Why is it that I find it so hard to find my style? I know part of the problem is I have a very adverse reactions to spending money on myself. (It's a Sarah thing, and I fear it will never change, which may be my downfall in all of this) I will buy for the kids, for my friends, for my family, even for charity, yet I will not part with more than $20 for a pair of jeans that I will wear for no less than 5 years. I'm serious! My outfit this a.m. to church consisted of a pair of gray slacks-purchased circa 2003; a black cashmere v-neck-Christmas gift from Cory, same year; black boots-purchased on same trip as gray slacks; and aforementioned Gap white favorite t. The only other items on my body less than 6 years old consisted of unmentionables that must be replaced at least a few times a year for fear of driving away my spouse.

Part of the issue also stems from the fact that I HATE TO SHOP. I know, I was meant to be born a boy. I am starting to be more and more convinced that something happened at birth that my parents have refused to admit, I really was Benjamin Burgess. (Benji, can you imagine what would have happened to that poor kid when the movie in the mid 70s came out?!)

About 2 years ago I stole my sister Clare's latest day style, which consisted of layering Gap, J Crew, etc. t's. LOVED IT! Great for runinng around with small kids, comfy, cozy, and although I can get away with it at the office because I have a FANTASTIC job, it's time for a change toward something a little more appropriate for one approaching 40 (EGADS!) Clare has the luck of having a body that can wear anything and look good. Plus she's far more feminine than I manage - I do live on a farm after all. And add to that the gift of ta-ta's from my mother and you have a recipe for fashion disaster!

My sister Ali sent me a link months ago to a website called My Shape where you enter all your measurements and it sets a profile for you and suggests clothing based on your size and body style. I finally logged on today and well, let's just say I am now even MORE depressed about the shopping thing. The only saving grace is that I attempted to measure myself since Cory is out bulding a dock on the pond today and so I am praying that I just did a poor job at it and therefore the shape it returned is not in fact the right one for me. If it is, I will be stepping up the daily excersie regimen a notch this week!

Cory, bless his heart (southern snark!), tries to assuage my depression in this arena. But it's just not going to work for him. He's a guy, his dream was to live on a farm and work in the great outdoors, he would be happy in a flannel and jeans, every day. However, since I have no aversion to buying clothes for him at the holidays and he received numerous freebie shirts from the companies we work for, he does have some variety. Honestly, I have less clothes in our closet than he does - because #1 I hold onto anything that I do like for decades, and #2 if I don't wear it I get rid of it. So combine that with not shopping save for maybe one trip a year to the outlet in Tennessee where my in-laws live, I am being serious - he has more clothes than I do.

So, if any of you reading this are friends here in town, do whatever it takes to drag my resistant to change self out of the house and shopping with you...and soon! Don't take no for an answer and don't let me try to come up with excuses about how Cory has been out of town so much and the kids need to have family time on the weekend. I will throw every one of them at you, but you must be strong and willful against me. Something must change because I want to be the hip 40 mom and I have only 2 years to get there and at the rate I'm going....well, Gap t's are timeless, aren't they?

Victoria - This One's For You!

We have many sweet neices...

Alyssa, our oldest and therefore the quiet, responsible one (much like her mother);

Haley, the only daughter of Cory's brother who is our fashion queen yet brainiac...what an awesome mix!;

Hannah, the child of animals, she has a gift with them - they speak to her and she speaks to them in a way no one else can match;

Caroline, the only niece on my side of the family, (can any more be said?), she is sweet and precocious and let's just say....she's Caroline;

and then there is Victoria...she's not the youngest (at least in the mix of grandkids), she's not the oldest, but boy does she have something! Victoria has the gift of living life to the fullest. We have become e-mail pals and she never ceases to amaze me with the wisdom she has beyond her years...(ok V, come down from the clouds for a minute... :) Honestly, I love to read other momblogs and one I love for her humor and insight is Mom-101 who I read about in Parents magazine about a year ago, and I was completely honored to have her post a comment to my blog one day and yet the idea for the post came from Victoria herself! (I secretly sometimes wish I was a NY brownstone living chick who worked in a high rise (or my NY apartment) and had the wit and humor to write my own weekly column!)

I like to think of Victoria was the 4th child in a family that was made to have 10 - always on the go and always crazy with this and that but with more than enough love to go around. She loves to laugh and tease and tell jokes (what's that one about the Mexican and the colors again?) and has a smile that will put you in a good mood no matter how your day went. And often, her e-mails do just that for me.

So, Victoria, you may have already seen this video from a few weeks ago on facebook (if your Mom let you have a peek) but if not...enjoy, this one is for you (because I think if you were here, you would have been on the slide right there with them!)

Amazing things happen to those who are patient

Waiting is just not fun, anticipation can be, such as in the birth of a child. Most of us are familiar with seeing that pink line on a pregnancy test at somewhere between 6 weeks and 3 months into a pregnancy...the shorter end if you are trying like mad to make a baby and the longer end if you are hoping like mad it's just a fluke and #.... isn't really coming so soon after the last one!

Well, imagine waiting nearly 3 years for the birth of your baby. Somewhere the anticipation loses it's muster and becomes waiting. But then, as the waiting lingers, you learn the art of patience and just then is when the most amazing reward for not allowing the patience to become impatient...you see your baby for the very first time!

I am trying, and probably horribly at that, to describe what I imagine my dear friend from years gone by, Sian and her husband Brette and daughter Ava, have just experienced. They have just announced the confirmation of the adoption of their second daughter!

I am so happy for them and excited for this next journey the three will take to China to welcome their little girl to the amazing amount of love they have built up to give her.

Congratulations McDonald family of four! I am so thrilled for your excitement! There is nothing more amazing than the addition of a new baby to a family! Enjoy every minute of this new adventure!