His embarrassing wife

Just like I expect my kids to screen my calls for telemarketers and take care of me in my old age, I think as parents we have duties too.  Feed them, love them, and embarrass them whenever possible.  Do that and you have succeeded, at least in my book.

One person I don't usually want to embarrass is Jay.  I want him to be proud of me and want to hang out with me, not pull his hand away from mine when his friends are coming close.  But, a few weeks ago I found out that even true love has it's limitations.

 

Tuesdays were our big pool day this spring.  Addi had swim team at 4:30, Sam had swim lessons at 5:30, and I had my adult lap lessons at 6:30.  Basically what that meant for me was a lot of organization, several bags of clothes, goggles, food, homework, etc., and several hours for me on uncomfortable bleachers.  Once Sam and Addi were done with their portion Jay would pick them up and I would stay for my lesson, then head home after 14+ hours away from the house.

 

The Tuesday of the "incident" I was watching Sam do homework and Addi do laps, when I saw Jay walking in.  He was easy to spot, wearing his t-shirt to support the tornadoes in Washington last fall and black running pants.

Washington Strong

Jay immediately turned bright red, mortified when he saw me.  Because I was wearing the exact same outfit. Neon orange shirt and black running pants.  We were twins!

I stood up, pointed at Jay, then at me, then at Jay, then at me, then whispered, "Look! We are twins!  Look Jay! Twins!"

OK.  Maybe I yelled that.  Repeatedly.  I blame the pool chemicals in the air and my excitement to see the love of my life after a whole 12 hours apart.  I do love the guy, after all.  Plus sometimes, it's really fun to embarrass him.

Well, proving that Addi is my genetic clone, she helped the embarrassment factor by jumping out of the pool, then trying to drag me and Jay over to show her friends that we were matchy matchy.  He refused. So really, I could blame her for his unhappiness.  Kids.

The next day we had Sam's school program at 11 am, so Jay and I both left work to meet at school.  And when we walked in, I realized that Jay was wearing his purple shirt.  No big deal, except my outfit was a flowered shirt complete with purple shoes.  I made a joke about us matching again and he gave me a look that said, "If you yell TWINS again I'm writing you out of my will."  I didn't want to embarrass him anymore so I kept my mouth shut.

Luckily, another mom helped out in that embarrassment department.  Not only did she call us twins three times, she insisted on taking a picture of us since we looked so cute.

 

I'm trying not to take it too personally that Jay set fire to both his purple and orange shirts last week. I'm sure it's a total coincidence.



A little thank you

Our family is really lucky to have an honorary aunt for the girls, Jeri.  She's amazing. She was a second mother to me and Lee for our entire lives, living next door to us in two different houses.  Even after we no longer lived next door she has always been there for us, and she really is a wonderful aunt to the girls.  A few months ago was the first time they realized she wasn't actually related to us, and they were totally dumbfounded.  To them, she's just Aunt Jeri.

Jeri asked if she could make Addison's First Communion dress for her, and we all loved the idea.  A trip to Indy, lots of tears, and finally the dress was designed to Addi's liking.  Jeri made the dress and shipped it to us, and of course Addi had grown a little bit more.  We shipped it BACK and by First Communion morning, the dress was perfect and Addi had an amazing day.  More on THAT later (but one picture of Jeri's handiwork).

Cattleya, Addison, and Lily

I really enjoy crafting, so as a thank you to Jeri I made her a wreath.  It really was a labor of love for me because I made it in Indiana University colors, and being a Purdue graduate it pained me to make something that represented our biggest in state rival.  Since I made it for their front door I also painted a wood "G" for their last name to attach to it, and in the end I really love how it turned out.

Jeri's Wreath

However.

I did learn a really, really important lesson on this particular craft.  When you work on a craft late at night, pay close attention to the little things in life.  Like, perhaps, look down every now and then just to make sure you haven't at some point dropped red paint on the ground, then stepped in it, then walked around your kitchen, say, 14 times. 

I've heard of painting a town red, but I'm pretty sure this is not what it means.

He is Risen!

I can say with 100% certainty that I believe in God.  That becomes more clear every single day, and watching the girls grow in their faith is really, really cool.

This Good Friday the girls and I were walking through the mall, enjoying the beautiful weather.  I posted this conversation on Facebook but for prosperity's sake, here it is again.

Me: Sam why do we celebrate Easter?
Sam: It's Jesus's birthday!
Addi: No Sam, that's Christmas. Easter is when Jesus turns into a kind of zombie and comes back alive. But he doesn't eat people's brains.

I'm choosing to be grateful there was no mention of the Easter bunny.

It feels like spring

You know it's finally springtime around our house when you hear those magical seven words from my kid(s):

"Mom, I just peed in the yard."

I won't tell you which one I heard it from first this year - but her initials are "Samantha Ralph."

One fish, two fish

A few weekends ago I took advantage of the warmer weather and worked on the front porch. 

A new wreath... Some new seat cushions I even sewed myself and painted and sealed my flower pots. I love how it turned out. Jay, however, thinks it looks like Dr. Seuss stopped by.