What do you do in between having a baby, putting your house up for sale (with three kids & a dog in tow), moving to Texas and buying a new home?

Why, be the matron of honor in your baby sister’s wedding of course!

When I can wrap my head around the fact that she’s really getting married, I’m honored to fill this role. My sister and I bickered our way through childhood, cried our way through the teen years, and she was even able to be with me when my youngest baby was born- all the while watching my kids while we were in the hospital (for that one, I’ll omit any bridezilla references. Ahem.)

This May, my younger sister is getting married. They actually have a sweet history and engagement. They dated through college, long-distance while he was in the military and stationed in Iraq, together in Colorado while he finished out his military career and now in Wisconsin, where a new job led them both to purchase their first house (which they’re also doing while planning a wedding. Hey, we like to multitask in this family).

While in Colorado, he took her for a helicopter ride through the mountains. Before they landed at sunset, he proposed (and, um, she said yes).

So sweet, right?

Anyway, fast forward to 2013, and all of a sudden the wedding is on it’s way. With half the bridal party (and the bride!) out of state, we have had to get rather creative. We have dress fittings, bachelorette parties, and a bridal shower all to get through – and soon.

Whew.

So, in the midst of this:

And doing this:

After adding this:

I’m currently in the middle of planning this:

In her defense, her wedding was planned first.

What were some fun games you played during bridal showers/bachelorette parties? Help me out!

As we spent a few hours at the pool yesterday, my husband looked over at me and said “wow, talk about blog fodder.

Yes, honey. Yes, indeed.

When we bought this house a year ago, one of our criteria was non-negotiable: we had to be in a swim/tennis community. I could have lived without the tennis but since they tend to go hand in hand, there you go. There HAD to be a pool!

In our subdivision, we are lucky that the pool is not terribly crowded on a regular basis, despite the size of the community. One of the key things we’ve noticed is the difference in the week/weekend crowds. There is no doubt that we prefer the weekday crowds.

3 Pool Rules People Need to Follow

1. Watch your children.

Seems so obvious, no? Apparently, no. The number of parents who flop down and doze in the sun or in some other way completely ignore your children is astounding. I want to share drowning videos with each and every one of them. Also? If your 5 year old is crying in the pool, has to be lifted out of it by the lifeguard and bandaged up all without your notice, there’s an issue. Bigger issue? When the lifeguard comes over to tell you what happened, you don’t even say thank you.

2. Don’t fight with the lifeguard.

You live in a homeowner’s association. There are rules about the length of your grass, so it should not come as a surprise that there are rules to use the pool. The lifeguard, that is paid from your dues, is enforcing the rules enacted BY the HOA and property management company. The college kid cannot change what the rules are, so leave the poor kids alone. While I’m sure it’s a giant inconvenience to you to not be able to drink your beer in the pool or leave it inches from the pool’s edge, this is NOT your private pool. Deal with it.

3. Turn DOWN your radio.

I enjoy music. I like to blast it while I’m cleaning, play it in the kitchen speakers when I’m cooking, belt out some songs in the car. But, I’m willing to bet you don’t want to listen to Kenny Chesney or Aerosmith (Hey, I’m eclectic) while relaxing at the pool- the same goes for your R&B. I repeat, NOT YOUR PERSONAL POOL. Bonus rule: Don’t turn it up, then get in the pool. A, there are 50 other people keeping you from hearing it, and B, there is not enough room to prevent me from having to hear it. Don’t be so rude!

As the swimming months go on, I can see this list growing more and more– and more and more. Tell me: What pool/summer behavior dries you crazy?

I always love when the warmer weather comes in Georgia (well, except for the allergies). This time of year means more time outside- always good when you have kids- and that festival season has arrived! Where we live, festivals are not just an indicator that spring is here, they’re a part of life. While we browse vendors, eat way too much food, and the kids bounce away, my favorite detail has to be watching my kids just be together. They’re not bickering, fighting over a toy, or trying to drive the other one crazy.

It’s the time of year I can actually get some pictures!

Of eating…

Of waiting to bounce…

And sharing the things they’ve made. 

I love festival season. And I love watching my kids enjoy it even more.

From when I was Waiting, to Looking for answers, Struggling through the questions and when I wore my hair down today, you can catch up on the past crazy year of my life. While there are still some uncertainties, and a lot of doctor visits, there seems to be an end in sight…

After everything I went through, I still remained frustrated. The eventual conclusion was that my birth control had essentially been poisoning me. I had been on mirena, which can stop your cycle (which happened to me for about two years). I had a dangerously high red blood cell count, among other things, that miraculously started improving without any explanation- except the length of time since I had had it removed.

There is no way to prove for sure, but it’s the only explanation some of the top doctors in the nation had left. This, combined with subclinical hyperthyroidism that I am still battling and seeking answers on, ravaged my body. My hair fell out until I looked like the cancer patient I so feared being; my weight continued to drop until my ribs poked out and I was horrifically skeletal. My moods were horrendous, and my emotions were so far out of control I could scarcely recognize the person I had become.

Slowly, I started to feel better. Some of the more intense symptoms started to fade away, and while some of the others remained, I started to feel more human. Not surprisingly, when I returned for my weekly checks, this was in direct correlation to the stabilization of my hormones and dropping off my red blood cell count. I started to breathe a bit easier, no longer fearing for every week to come with more horrifying news than the last; I finally started to believe that this was starting to pass.

The past year has held a lot of emotions. From the time I held clumps and clumps of hair in my hand, to when I walked into the cancer center, the youngest person by decades and yet the recipient of pitying looks, to the gallons of blood I had drawn and endless medical procedures I have had done, I truly felt I had been through it all. From medications to anesthesia, mood swings to breakdowns, I thought I had seen it all.

Until a few weeks later. It seemed life had one more surprise in store…

I wore my hair down today.

It’s almost laughable to think that something so seemingly inconsequential is so significant. Last year, I stood in front of the mirror, tears streaming down my face as I pulled clumps after clumps of hair off of my head, slowly displaying large portions my scalp in a tortured reveal. I spent weeks crying as it continued after each shower, each brushing of what was left, each end of the day. So, finally, I put my hair in a ponytail.

And it’s been there ever since.

You just don’t quite realize how much your appearance is a part of you. It is hard to comprehend that removing an element of ourselves that we so often take for granted can have such a profound impact on your every day.

But it does.

You do not like to think that you are preoccupied with your appearance. While you strive to look decent and well put together, it is difficult to imagine that something such as the look of your hair could feel like it affects your very being.

But it does.

When facing challenges you never thought you’d face, experiencing fear unlike that of which you’ve ever known, with the future such an uncertainty, it is hard to believe that looking in the mirror can make you feel like you’re already losing the fight.

But it can.

I am a lucky, lucky woman. With everything that I have experienced this past year, and everything I have to face ahead, I am still here. I am in a position where I no longer have to fear for my life, fear for my tomorrow. But this past year has changed so much of my perspective and has shaken me down to the very core. When something comes your way that affects every part of your life, it is impossible to imagine how much things will change. Even more incomprehensible is the slow fear that wars with hope when you start to notice a change can overwhelm you to the point of exhaustion.

But it can.

I wore my hair down today. While it doesn’t compare to the assurances I have been given, while it doesn’t erase the trepidation and anxiety the past year has consumed me with, while it doesn’t come close to the absolutely stunning things I will still face…

I wore my hair down today.

It still means so much. In a way that may never make much sense to anyone, it still means so much. Tears streamed down my face as I looked in the mirror, and for the first time in a long time, I started to think it would be okay.

Because I wore my hair down today.

Please excuse the odd picture, but it’s the only one I took of myself yesterday

It’s hard to believe that years ago, on this day, I walked up to this chapel in Charleston, filled with nerves, anticipation, and the wonder of what would be.

Draped in white, flowers, and excitement, traditions held, the two of us had escaped the world around us, following our hearts down the path of the unknown, taking a leap of faith neither of us ever quite fully grasped and a journey we couldn’t imagine. From our home in Georgia, we journeyed to Utah…

… to the Emerald Coast in Florida

…. to the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia

…to the traumatizing state of Alaska…

…and finally making it back home to Georgia.

But standing here years later, we shared in a kiss in the same place we had said “I do”. Because wherever we go, we will always find the other one to be home.

I am so lucky and honored to call this man my husband, and am so happy to celebrate another year of marriage. Happy Anniversary to my husband. Here’s to many things to come in 2012, and many more years ahead. 

Our children grow far too quickly. Time flies by quicker than we can imagine, and soon our tiny babies resemble tiny adults. Watching my children grow and interact is one of the great joy’s of my life (okay, and sometimes a great headache too- they are siblings.) Luckily, Galit from These Little Waves and Alison from Mama Wants This provide us a fabulous chance each month to capture the memories that are far too fleeting.

As my children get a little older, one of the most amazing things to watch is their evolving relationship as siblings. As their mom, I can only hope it continues to grow the older they get- and that they always have each other to count on…