OMG

So, my 40th birthday came and went with a blown tire, a rapid pickup of the children and a broken air conditioner. Oh well, that’s life.  **shrugs**   The next day I shifted focus to Girl 2’s 4th birthday party in 9 days and another mini- vacation with all the extended family and all the hostessing that includes. Somewhere in that time frame dr soc had a nose job (okay, it was sinus surgery. But calling it a nose job is better for teasing because I love him), we set up a new big girl bed for girl 2, and somehow had to clean the house for all the company coming in because omg there are going to be 11 people in my house at the same time. 

Friday before the party I text dr soc with the last minute party/grocery shopping and come home to a clean house too. God I love that man. But something was slightly off. No one was downstairs like usual when I come home from work, and the sofa tables are cleaned off with the exception of a purse I didn’t recognize.

me: I’m home! Hey who’s here?
dr soc: What do you mean?

me: Whose purse is this? (I’m not too concerned, and if even if it was his mistress if she cleans my house she can stay)

dr soc: - realizes the jig is up - Oh. As for who’s here…

My bestest buddie from when we were 11 and lives in Portland and haven’t seen in 6 years runs down the stairs.

MY BESTEST BUDDIE FROM WHEN WE WERE 11 AND LIVES IN PORTLAND AND HAVEN'T SEEN IN 6 YEARS RUNS DOWN THE STAIRS.

OMFG.

I’m in shock to say the least. I'm in disbelief and hugging her so tight because all the feels! I mean now I have to figure out dinner but that’s okay because omg my bestest buddie who I haven’t seen in 6 years has flown across the country to surprise me for my/our 40th birthday! 

But wait, there’s more! Dr soc has ordered food for tonight too so I don’t need to worry about dinner either. And speak of the devil, the doorbell rings. I open the door and it's sorta food but not really because  

It’s 4 of my best friends from college who live in 4 different parts of the country and haven’t seen in at least 2 years because of the pandemic standing on my front porch (to take me out for dinner).

IT’S 4 OF MY BEST FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE WHO LIVE IN 4 DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY AND HAVENT SEEN IN AT LEAST 2 YEARS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC STANDING ON MY FRONT PORCH (TO TAKE ME TO DINNER).

Well now I'm crying tears of joy, my friends are crying tears of joy too and dr soc is welling up as well because he arranged for all of them to surprise me for my birthday on this particular weekend. That night we went out for Mexican food with margaritas college style but better because we're all 40 now and have disposable income.

And Saturday they came to girl 2's birthday party and then we had a night on the town. I had a girls' weekend and it was the absolute best.  

clockwise from bottom left: Jeanne - Cleveland, me -Charlotte, Priya -Portland, Nancy - NYC, Michele - DC/Maryland and LB - Orlando

SO MANY MILES 

Some of my favorite ladies

And my shoe exploded. It didn't just break, it exploded and ceased to function

Funtimes is an understatement. Amazing isn't a strong enough word to describe my friends. I was completely surprised and overwhelmed at how much I am loved.  A huge thank you to dr soc for making it happen, and another billion thank yous to my best friends for all the miles traveled!    

Truths

 Welp. As of today I'm 40. (FUCK). I mean, it's great I'm here. My 20s were fun, and I married the love of my life. My 30's I had my children and those two are...my greatest joys and my greatest annoyances. So my 40s...let's see what this decade brings! 

But what kind of milestone birthday blog would this be if I didn't do some sort of soapbox reflection? So I will present you some truths I stand by my 40 trips around the sun

• A good pen will make or break your day.
• A person's use of spell check is a determining factor in friendship levels.
• I loathe text talk.  
• Pandas are assholes.
• The patriarchy sucks.
• There is nothing redeemable about a Tuesday. 
• Glitter is the herpes of crafts
• Never trust a girl without girlfriends.
• Or squirrels.
• Always, always smell the milk first
• Generic applesauce and oatmeal taste like cardboard
• There is no such thing as a "quick trip to Ikea."
• Don't buy generic toilet paper. Ever
• Tupperware is unable to be organized and is my nemesis.
• You can never have too many coats.
• Or chairs.
• Or books! (don't you say a thing dr soc!)
• Removing that stay hair bothering the crap out of you from your clothes is one of life's greatest victories.
• With small children it's best not to ask what a stain is.
• Wearing a dress or skirt with pockets automatically defaults to a good day.
• I cannot please everybody. I am not a taco.
• A taco can fix almost everything.
• I'm very likeable.

10 years

Ten years ago I trapped my favorite person in a legal state sanctioned union! And he gave me some new bling with all our family's birthstones and our wedding anniversary too. 

stone order: July, February, May, July, November

Because I am an awesome wife, I gave him his own set of mixing bowls for our anniversary. I figure after ten years married he's respected my mixing bowl rule long enough, it was time to give him his own so he can eat his giant salads and stay healthy and not die on me. Because I will kill him if he leaves me a widow. 

Love you Dr Soc!

Threenager take 2

Aaaaaand Girl 2 is 3!

Happy birthday my 

Snacky

Smiling (so so so smiley!)

Sketchy (wait-)

Snuggly! (omg her cuddles are fierce) 

little one! 

Sometimes (lots-times) you drive me insane, all-the times you are loud, but that is you, and you are who you are and we will always love you exactly like that.   

- Love mommy, daddy and big sis  

Introducing...

Ryder!

His full name is Ryder, Sir Snuggles of Our Silly Named St, The House Sociology, First of his Name, Protector of Small Loud Humans, Sweeper of the Crumbs and All Around Good Boy.

 

Also known as our 11 month Boston Terrier/lab mix (mutt!) from the Boston Terrier Rescue Group of NC (link below).

All of us with full vocabularies got some part of what we wanted:

Girl 1 wanted another Boston: 

Boston (mix aka mutt) ✔

Dr Soc wanted a puppy:

11 months < year = puppy ✔

And I was adamant* we rescue or adopt

 * I was also adamant I would never get another puppy yet here we are so... 

I loves him! Thanks BTRNC ✔

89% of me loves him so so much

1% will always miss the girls over the rainbow bridge  

and 10% of me can't believe I got suckered into another puppy! 

Oh well! Welcome to the family Ryder!

Happy Birthday Little Lion!

Little Lion is officially 2! I say officially because as soon as this girl could walk she has been running me ragged and been the a quintessential toddler. She is also:

my little climber 

SO proud of herself

My little artist

Have writing utensil - will draw on anything

Rock star

Baby Shark doo doo doo doo 

Big sister adoring

Yeah, she needs the leash

Yogurt loving

(and bath) 

And ice cream adoring

ALL OF IT IN MY MOUTH

Smiling 

Extroverted 

so outgoing

Party girl* 

The most precious, snugly, strong willed, vocal (when frustrated she releases these banshee cries until someone relents and she gets what she wants), most kissable

absolutely most darling little one our family could have

Happy birthday sweetheart! 

*She slams her juice cup down with the enthusiasm of a college kid at a frat party. Speaking of frat parties she wriggles all her sleeveless shirts into togas. Her 21st birthday is on a Saturday (yup I checked). And my personal favorite, before we legit* baby proofed the kitchen, she reached into the party* cabinet and gleefully pulled out a full bottle of wine! 

*put childproof locks on. Previously we had hair ties wrapped around some cabinets because big sister didn't really get into things and also had 2 sets of eyes on her. This one not so much.

*booze, serving platters, fondue pot, punch bowl...aka: party 

With-

Ten years ago I emailed my girlfriends I had a date that night with this guy named Mike I had been emailing with for 2 weeks.   

And guess happened? 

I married him and had his babies! And tag him on facebook because that makes it official. 

With my favorite person

Love you dr soc!

ROAR!

Aaaaaand - Little Lion is 1! (also because she's the 2nd kid I'm not as on top of the memory updates, sorry my darling, mommy loves you!)

Anyway- after several weekends of getting distracted and a false alarm- July 23 2018 we left for the hospital at 7 pm, and dr soc yelled "another girl!" at 9:57 pm!

proving my maternal instinct absolutely incorrect 

and in 365+ days became:

one year old!

She's also:

a great giver of looks

I call this my Blue Steel. Or I'm probably pooping
(she was pooping - also a great burper too!)

Super chill

S'up? (don't those cheeks just kill you?)

Costume embracing

Rarity of My Little Pony (as decreed by big sister) 

Big Sister Adoring

pictured: bonding between sisters or: world domination plotting session
could go either way

Smiling

girl 2 gives girl 1 some of her biggest smiles

Super snugly:

Daddy and big sister?! My favorites! 

Self feeding:

this girl puts everything, and I mean everything, in her mouth

Dog feeding:

Oh hi Jules! You want some cheerios?

Grocery shopping aficionado 

All the blue pouches please mommy!

Laughing. So SO much laughing!

and talented! look what I can do! 

Ice cream loving

she screams if you don't give it to her fast enough

Most perfect little girl

absolutely perfect

She made our family a million times even more happy than we ever dreamed

two perfect little girls

my heart didn't know it could be this full

#trope

Happy Birthday Little Lion! ROAR!

Party of four!

Yup, we're a party of 4 now! Our 2nd little lady arrived on July 23, 2018 at 9:57 pm, right on the cusp of leo! She's perfectly healthy, so tiny and our hearts couldn't be fuller. Turns out my maternal instinct was way off since I knew this one was a boy. But meh, she kept making moves like she was going to come out for 2 weeks and getting distracted. So I started referring to the baby as my little trickster towards the end, makes sense my girl would fool us all.

We're all adjusting as well as we can. Big sister likes little sister well enough but sees her more as a novelty at the moment. She "helps" in her own special toddler way, she'll bring us the right size diaper when changing the baby, and she'll yell sing her ABC's to calm the baby down in a meltdown. She has even managed to wait on occasion when she wants something but the baby is monopolizing my hands/boobs/time/overall being. Dr Soc can't feed the baby at the moment (we haven't started bottles yet) but he is secure enough in his masculinity to embrace being outnumbered forevermore (probably-the dog's a female but won't live forever, and who knows how the kids will identify themselves). And I'm recovering at whatever pace I want, and taking a nap (and/or eating) whenever I can.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

Flashback Friday

Look what we did 5 years ago!

MARRIED!!!!!

Want more pictures and all the feels? Click on the link above ⬆ and prepare to be amazed (I certainly was, but I admit I may have something of a bias).

Anyway, five years on one hand feels like a long time. And on the other hand five years doesn't seem long at all. Look at all we've done! Either way, Happy anniversary my love!

Daddy's Day 2016

Last year my dad passed away two weeks before Father's day, so I was understandably but incredibly sad the whole day. Since I was pregnant then too I assumed 2016 Father's Day would be much better, and it was. Baby girl got her daddy a matching shirt and onesie and a mug for his office. (Mommy's gift had to be returned because it wasn't going to fit where it should in the garage. Boo. I did get something else that works so it wasn't a total gift fail)  And the Cleveland Cavilers WON THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!! Seriously. It's a big f*cking deal.

But it was also harder in some ways, something I didn't expect. I was shopping for Father's Day cards and as I was looking for one the baby could give her daddy, I realized I didn't know how to get a card to my daddy. Because how do you send a card to heaven? My heart started to ache and I teared up a little in the store. But it's ok, because I'll always be a daddy's girl and I'll always I love him. I don't have to give him a card to know that. I just miss him.
 

Signed, Seeled, Delivered

SHE'S BORN!!!
My baby girl was born healthy on November 24, 2015 at 3:27 am!!
Mike and I are thrilled to be parents and over the moon in love with our tiny little girl. Overall, we're dealing with little sleep, the most perfect baby and tons of well wishes. It was a fast labor (maybe one day I'll write more about it, while omitting many gross details), and I was able to get the epidural just in time. (OMG GET THE DRUGS, DRUGS FOR THE WIN)
And yes, we were surprised up until the very end. Especially me since I was thinking boy, but Mike was thinking girl and he was right. Which he may be a little smug about, but I don't mind. I'm a mommy! Mike's a daddy! And she's perfect. So much happiness.

Like Father, Like Daughter

The closer my due date comes, I find I'm missing my dad more and more. Even though I accepted there was a chance Dad may not meet my children and that there was nothing I could do to help that, the reality of not having him here for these huge life events and even little everyday things is tough.  

But those little everyday things can also be a comfort to me. Just the other day as I was driving home from work with my windows open and the car next to me was blasting their music. I didn't want to hear whatever they were listening to but more importantly I couldn't hear NPR. So I turned up my radio to an 11 (or a 30-something. Whatever, if you don't get the reference we can't be friends). Which is the exact same thing my dad used to do when he was annoyed in the same situation.

I started to laugh and tear up at the same time. I just hope my dad was laughing up there too.

Father's day

Today will be the hardest father's day for me. Next year I will tell my baby what a wonderful grandpa they had, but this year I am just going to miss my daddy.

I will tell them: 

How he could always comfort me.

I guess 80's babies were allowed to sleep on their stomachs...

How he was always willing to help and had the biggest sweet tooth.

Making one of our birthday cakes (both of our birthdays are in July)

How supportive he was and how we had so much fun.

Swings, roller coasters and building sand castles, dad had our back

 And that he always listened to me chatter on.

And on... (I'm sure he tuned me out at some point, but you can't blame him)

He was so proud of and loved both his girls so much

Even if his signature look was just shaking his head at our teenage girl antics

But most of all, I will tell them how much I will always love him, and how much I know he loves them. 

CHEESE!

So next year as we're wishing dr soc a happy fathers day, I will also tell them that before mommy was a mommy, she is and always will be my daddy's girl.

I love you daddy. Happy Father's day.