Dear Snow

Dear Snow,

I never thought I'd wish for you, growing up in a land where you were plenty. But this winter, I have wished for you! My nuggets NEED you. Because, you see, it's just so.much.fun. to play in the snow when you're a nugget.

And you finally joined us. We played, and played, and had so much fun! We went sledding, ate snow cream, and even out snow in the bathtub to play in after dark!

Thank you snow, for making my nuggets' week. 

Dear Jax 20 months

Dear Jax ,

You are 20 months old! Where has time gone? I ask myself this daily as I slowly watch you morph into a little boy. 

You are such a little nugget. So lovable, huggable and kissable. You weigh about 10 pounds less than your sister who is FOUR years older than you. You are approximately 2 1/2 feet tall, or mini skirt height. 

You love all things boy: trains, planes, and automobiles. But yet you love to play with dolls and purses too. 

You pretty much full on converse these days with your vocabulary doubling by the day. I've lost count of the amount of words you can say. You know what you want in life and you express it well. You often get exactly what you want due to the fact your voice sounds like angels singing. But when you don't get what you want? It's a full on bird-poop-on-the-lip pout followed quickly by crocodile tears. Heart. Breaker.

You love your sister beyond words. You often shout out "luv oo mama" or "luv oo daddy" just to make your presence known. 

We love you big time and can't wait to see what you do next. 

Love always,

mama

Dear T

Dear Tatum, We just got back from Arizona on our "girl's trip" and what a wonderful weekend it was! We spent time living the dream, soaking in the sunshine, and doing whatever we wanted. We held hands, we giggled, we played in the sun, we walked the labyrinth, we went to Butterfly Wonderland, and we took things a little bit slower than we do at home. We spent time talking to each other, with no distraction. We smiled at each other, and said "I love you" a hundred times over. We snuggled in the same bed and lived like we were on vacation. Just you and me, my first babe. How lucky I am to have you. Thank you, T, for the great weekend. Love, Mama

New.

New. Fresh. I love change. I love a new year. I love being given a chance to make some much-needed changes. This year, I don't have resolutions. I have changes that need to be made to make me a better mother, a better wife, and a better lawyer. This year, life will slow down. I will take time to breathe, take time to enjoy, and take time to love. I will slow things down at work so I can enjoy my family at home instead of lose my shit on the poor souls. It was a cold day in late December when I had this realization: I was managing to hold my shit together 8 hours a day, 5 days a week in a professional environment I call work. Not once in 7 years has any one seen me lose my temper. BUT I was coming home in recent months and losing my shit there. On my poor family. It was stress, I knew it. But it wasn't their stress. It was mine, and I needed to be accountable for it. So at that moment I professed to the Mr. that I would be accountable for my stress-load and slow.it.down. The other thing that will happen this year is that I will take a hiatus from my smart-phone. This thing is attached to me just like the rest of America, and that's ok - sometimes. When it gets right down to it, I get about 2 hours (max) with my nuggets on weekday evenings from the time I get home until the time they are fast asleep. I came to the realization that anything can wait 2 hours - and if there's an emergency - oddly enough my phone has the capability to be used as a phone as well! I don't write this as a list of things to suggest everyone do them, but rather a reminder to myself of what is important to me. So, here's to new. Here's to change. Here's to fresh. 2014 is going to be great.