one more voice for LB

This is my blog, my corner of the world to share my stories - but today isn't about me. Today is about LB and the #dofunstuff project. Today is about something bigger than myself.

And so I won't waste my words - I'll simply say do something for someone else today, and do something now. Go to Pacing the Panic Room for more information. And *congratulations* to Ryan for making this dream a beautiful reality, I know LB is and forever will be very proud of you.

lil' queen

SidMo was in a beauty pageant yesterday - the little local one we do every year.

She did *much* better this year than last year - there was very little crying and no 3 o'clock meltdown. I know some people think pageants for little girls are just another way society is trying to dumb down woman and exploit their love of all things beauty-related. And I agree, to a certain extent. I'd never be a "toddlers and tiaras" kind of mom. We do this once a year, and SidMo really enjoys it - she'd enjoy it a lot better if no one clapped or cheered for her, as weird as that sounds. But she enjoys dressing up and being girly, she just doesn't appreciate all the attention she gets on-stage.

She definitely marches to the beat of her own little drum. She's the perfect mix of girly and giddy and rough and tumble. Silly and sweet, cute and crazy. I was very proud of her for conquering her fears (a little better than usual) and I'm hoping its things like these little pageants that help her get over her irrational fears - like the fear of the "happy birthday" song. But that's a post for another day.

Here she is in all her pageant cuteness and kookiness.

*she got 3rd runner up, by the way, and was incredibly proud of herself.*

college grad (almost)

Tomorrow (Friday) I go back to college. And I'm equal parts excited, equal parts bummed.

I have classes almost every Friday from 4pm-9pm and Saturday 9am-4pm starting from tomorrow until December 2011. In a way that's really awesome, because it's fast track and I'll have my degree done in just a little over a year. On the other hand, it totally sucks because that ruins my weekend almost completely, and I won't get to spend much quality time with my little family. The good and the bad. The up and the down.

But I'm doing this for my family and for my daughter and for myself and for all the right reasons. My head and my heart are in the right place, so the only thing I can do is make the best of the time I'm given and put my nose to the grindstone. Come January 2012, I never want to look at the inside of another college until Sidney goes away for school.

So, yeah, back to college I go. Hi-ho. Hi-ho.

like mother, like daughter

(December '09)

Stuffing our faces, distracted by the TV. That pretty much sums it up right there.

dreaming of September

It felt like fall a little today. And my heart skipped a beat.

It's ridiculous how much I love this season, and after this brutal summer we've all endured, I'll never be happier to feel crisp nights and cooler temperatures than I will this year.

All I have to do is close my eyes and I smell cinnamon, hear leaves crunching beneath my shoes, taste hot chocolate, hear the roar of a Friday night football crowd, feel the wind in my hair, and know that it's here. My favorite time of the year is almost here, so close I can almost touch it.

Say do you remember,
Dancing in September.
Golden dreams were shiny days.

Seriously, I love September. It's the greatest month of all (Sidney's birthday on the 5th, our anniversary on the 19th, and my birthday on the 28th)!!!