This little piggy...

... had a birthday!

There aren't words for the joy this little twerp brings to our lives. 

She is happy, playful and sweet, with just the right wicked little pinch of sass. 

Happy first birthday, Eloise Margaret, my jolly little piglet!

Happy Birthday Matilda!

As I realized yesterday that I had neglected to post a birthday greeting to my first born, I realized also all the other things I had neglected to write about. So pardon me as, over the next few weeks I play a little catch up--not for you, but for me, as blogging is pretty much the only journaling I do. So I WILL get up to date. But not today. And not this week. Too much fun to be had. All about which I'll tell you. Over the next few weeks...

Happy Birthday my darling little gnome. Two years ago yesterday you made me a mama. And the happiest mama on earth at that.

best weekend of the year

Hope you plan on taking the opportunity to watch, now or later.

happy friday!

love,

Eloise

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...

...to quote one of Tilly's favorite nursery rhymes. And you can bet we were all doing a jiggety gig when Papa finally came home. He returned from his Nicaraguan Mancation a little skinnier for not having eaten in a few days, and a lot hairier for not having shaved in several.

At breakfast I asked Matilda if she was happy to have her papa home. She said emphatically, "YEAH! Whiskers!"

So while Chace lost weight on his involuntary fast, I gained it cheating on our diet. In a nutshell, Chace got skinnier, I got fatter, and the girls?

They got sassier.

That old cup. It's runnethin' o'er again.

And I'll give you two guesses as to why.

It's been an excellent day. Mostly because I let it be. Because I remembered that I'm a mom first and foremost, not a housekeeper and not a cook and not a laundress. Sometimes I forget. Why do I undermine my own happiness so and waste precious hours feeling like my babies are getting in the way of my accomplishment? Can you think of any greater accomplishment than raising a tiny human? Tonight I sat on the couch playing with Eloise as Matilda ran around like a wild brumby (we just watched The Man from Snowy River) and I had a vivid flashback of sitting in that same spot with Tilly at Eloise's age. It felt kind of like having the wind knocked out of me. Surreal. Now Matilda is negotiating for "five more minutes!" of play before bed. Eloise is threatening to roll over (post edit: she rolled twice yesterday! Yikes!) Where did they go, my babies? "Time flies on wings of lightning; We cannot call it back" I cringe to think of the days I've wasted in frustration. I'm so glad that, as Anne says, "Marilla, isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

(And maybe we'll just forget what Marilla says back... it's too true... "I'll warrant you'll make plenty in it," said Marilla. "I never saw you beat for making mistakes, [Rivka] Anne." Ah, well. We'll see.)

Happy Valentine's Day, Papa

Yea, verily yea? Or nay?

On the glasses, that is.

I have about 28 days to decide.

Of course, I had to experiment a little to see if they could adapt to my various moods... Undetermined but sure to be awesome prize to the reader who comes up with the best captions for the above faces. And just to be nice, I'll give you a freebie.

I call the last one "Keira Knightley."

But seriously, should I keep the glasses? Are they too crazy for a woman of my age, rank and station?

sisterly love

Yes, we're still alive; Eloise just barely... Updates (and lots of photos) to come!