I've been fighting a cold for nearly a week that has taken both my energy and my voice. I finally took advantage of the one morning during the week when I have a sitter and ran to urgent care where I was prescribed an anesthetic for my vocal cords. 1) I didn't know those existed. 2) I'm wondering if I can slip it into Murphy's sippy cup to lessen the misery (on me) of her daily tantrums. Since I have my sitter for one more hour, and I'm flying solo with the kiddos from 12:30 till bedtime, I thought I'd treat myself to a throat-soothing peppermint mocha and a few minutes of blogging.
This peaceful time is nice after an exceptionally busy day yesterday. Lindsay had left on an early (like pre-dawn early) flight to Ponca City to take a look at a company, so I was on my own to get our kindergartener, who was quite groggy after her three day weekend, to school. I was feeling extra proud of myself when I had all three little ladies buckled into the car at 7:19 AM. Granted, only one person in the car was not wearing pajamas, but only that person actually had to get out of the car.
By 10:00, I'd safely delivered Murphy in the Middle - along with her carpool boyfriend - to preschool, and Wright and I had gone grocery shopping (for the third time in 24 hours.)

[Must. Get. Organized.]

Once we got home and I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and made a fresh batch of fruit fly killer (seriously? There has to be some sort of freakish infestation going on this year!), I occupied the Itty Bitty with a large drawer of random plastic items (water bottles, mis-matched lids, popsicle molds, etc...) and got to work on last night's dinner.
I'd spent a lot of time over the past couple of weeks searching for crockpot recipes that were healthy (as in, did not involve just throwing cans of stuff into the crockpot) and finally came across a really great website. Now the recipes here do require a bit of time in preparation, but I've found it's pretty manageable to get the heavy work done in the mornings and let the crock do its job till dinner time.

Slow Simmered Meat Sauce

The smell of this simmering all day was ah-ma-zing.

While the Tiny One cat-napped and I cleaned up the kitchen, again, I was startled by the loud laughing sound of The Creepy Monkey. You know those freaky stuffed monkeys that they sell in airports that laugh and wiggle when motion is sensed by their freaky little heads? Yeah, well thanks to the in-laws (shout out Pops and Misha) we are the owners of one, and I could hear it making all sorts of sounds from the playroom upstairs. I headed upstairs to turn it off, half afraid of finding a knife-wielding lunatic waiting to murder me (what else would have triggered the sensor?), but rather than finding a pscyo, I stumbled upon an image that made me feel psycho.

My view as I entered the room...

What the...

How on earth did this happen?!

So maybe every now and then I pay my girls $1

to go play alone (together) in the playroom...

What did I do upon seeing the epic mess? I turned off that damn monkey and headed right back downstairs to wake up Wrighty. She and I then folded a couple loads of laundry, made the beds, and tidied the girls rooms. At this point, I decided I'd like to take a shower, a bold aspiration for sure. I set her on the bathroom rug, opened up the bathroom cabinet, and hopped in the shower. Ten minutes later, I stepped out to see this:

It was worth the sacrifice.

A few minutes later, Murphy arrived home from preschool, and my wet-head and I greeted her out front. I noticed how precious she looked in the sweater that her grandparents has given to Carter when Murphy was born and asked her if I could take a quick picture. 

Clearly, she was thrilled to be photographed.

The next hour involved feeding Wrighty lunch, navigating Murphy's tantrums, and wishing I'd had time to dry my hair as I could feel it frizzing up. At some point, the senseless whining must have worn Murphy out, and she requested to go to nappy. With both her and Wrighty settled, I stepped around the mess still all over the bathroom floor, dried my hair, and put on just a dusting of makeup. I had about 15 minutes before I needed to walk to the bus-stop to get the big girl. 

It was then that I remembered the situation upstairs in the playroom. I debated letting the girls handle it, but every now and then I like things to be cleaned-up, really cleaned-up, and actually put in their places. Always one for a challenge, even against myself, I decided to set the timer on my phone and see how much I could get done in 13 minutes. When the 'doggy barked' (Murphy has set my phone to bark when the timer goes off and often asks if the 'doggy barked' when wondering if time is up for this or that), I looked around and was quite pleased with my work.

Not too shabby.

A place for everything.

And everything in its place.

This mad-dash clean-up was actually pretty energizing (and, honestly, I broke a sweat in those 13 minutes) and a real mood-booster! I quickly walked to the bus stop, nearly being killed by the acorns that were harshly flying at my head due to the ridiculous winds, and greeted my sweet girl. She hopped off the bus and instantly sat down on the sidewalk and began feverishly writing. 

She said she was writing

'important things to remember when she's a grown up'.

(Literally, she was writing her bus number.)

The rest of the afternoon/evening involved a relatively mellow Murphy, Wrighty showing the beginnings of a cold, and Carter trying out a new gymnastics center. As I drove her home in the pitch-blackness that is 6:45 pm (thank you, Time Change), we were both giddy at seeing snow falling for about ten minutes. Once all the kiddos were tucked in for the night, I finally cleaned up the mess in the bathroom floor (thankful that this time a bottle of cough syrup was not involved in Wrighty's bathroom floor entertainment) and enjoyed a late dinner with the hubby. I served the meat sauce over whole wheat penne and fresh parm, and it absolutely tasted as good as it smelled.

Maybe better.

Sometimes, it's the most ordinary of days that turn into the most memorable, 

or in my case, blog-able. 

Meandering on a Monday

Today my sweet Baby Wright turned one. 

The third wearer of the birthday smock.

While this first major milestone is so precious to celebrate, it also brings out a bit of PTSD for her Mama. Unfortunately, bringing our precious Itty Bitty into the world differed from the births of our first two daughters as it was met with stress and anxiety and fear and loneliness and a serious amount of pain. Today as I've reflected on this same day one year ago, I've found that I've been feeling a little sad at all that moment in time was not. Rather than lingering in that place, I decided to engage in some therapy of the blogging and salted caramel hot chocolate variety.
Last Thursday, Carter came home from school and emphatically declared: "Well, I've figured it out. K doesn't like me!" Knowing that she had been curious as to this classmate's feelings towards her, I asked how she was certain. It turns out K had engaged in a little 'eenie, meenie, minie, moe, I don't like YOU' game. Upon hearing this, the fur stood straight up on my Mama Bear back, but Carter seemed to take the whole thing in stride.

Rock Star! moments after telling me the story.

The one action by the borderline bully that did send Carter into a tizzy was when she tore up my Nature Girl's leaf; nature destruction is crossing a line that she will not soon forget. I knew that having three daughters would, undoubtedly, bring with it lots of Mean Girl drama over the years, but I wasn't expecting it in Kinder! Carter and I talked about what makes a good friend and how she should choose her friends and agreed that it's much more fun to play with the kids who are nice to you. But, truth be told, I did have images of playing a little 'eenie, meenie, minie, moe' game of my own with little Ms. K during my next classroom volunteer session...
I try to think of my time in the car as mini vacations during my busy days, and a big part of this involves listening to talk radio. I love it all - from sports radio to Entertainment Weekly radio to local morning shows. Something I heard on Oprah radio recently really got me thinking. The various sides of the gay marriage debate were being discussed and a man opined something along the lines of: how do people use the argument that gay marriage will ruin the sanctity of heterosexual marriage while we live in country where people GET MARRIED - Say vows! -  Make sacred covenants! - after meeting on REALITY television shows?! I thought this was a great point, and it also made me laugh out loud.

Nothing says Happy Birthday! like a sample of rice pilaf.

Today as I was putting away my Trader Joe's haul {Current must-haves? Pretzel bread, cookie butter/cocoa swirl, ready to eat edamame, pumpkin bars} and Wrighty was ransacking my purse, I had The View on for background noise. During the 'Hot Topics' segment, the co-hosts were discussing Chris Brown's recent arrest (thanks to my religious following of RadarOnline, I was quite familiar with the story) and the recurring theme of 'but he's such a talented artist' was brought up. Chris Harrison (The Bachelor host) was a guest co-host and shared an opinion that I thought was fantastic. He noted that only with celebrities do we give the 'but s/he is so talented' pass. Politicians' indiscretions are ignored if they are liked by their constituents. Chris Brown, specifically, beat the holy heck out of a woman and has still gone on to have much success and a legion of loyal fans. Yet, when do we excuse the behavior of regular folks based on his or her craft?

'Mr. Todd may have killed someone, but have you seen how well he repairs a toilet?!' 

'Mrs. Brown has stolen her employer blind, but, wow!, can she frost a cake!' 

Another interesting point to ponder. 

Yesterday at church we had a healing service in which people with any physical ailment could come forward for prayer for healing. I watched as a sweet mother half walked/half carried her son, who looked to be about 8 years old, to the front of the church. He seemed to have cerebral palsy or maybe even Turret's, he was clapping sporadically as if by reflex. As I watched him and his mother, tears just poured down my face. 'Why, Lord?' was my first thought, almost immediately followed by, 'Why NOT us, Lord?' In those moments I felt completely overwhelmed by the pure blessing and miracle, really, it is to have three healthy children. As the Scripture (Isaiah 55:8), which my dear friend who is facing cancer has shared with me many times over the past few months, says, 'Our ways are not His ways.' I love The Message's translation, 'I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work.' We can't even begin to understand the mysteries of God with our human minds.

If that experience and those thoughts don't get me out of my silly

why wasn't my birth experience 

{which yielded a perfectly perfect baby girl} 

everything I'd wanted it to be - mood

I just don't know what will! 

Having her cake, and eating it, too!

Her birthday may not have been perfect,

but every day spent with her since has been a dream.

The Sweetest Things, Q3

These are some of my favorite posts to write because they cause me to document many of the goings-on with our family that would likely be forgotten otherwise. More specifically, identifying The Sweetest Things leads me to intentionally pause and reflect on all the good things in our life.
This particular edition is notable as it is coming after an especially trying period. From September 5 to September 25, I was at the pediatrician's office 7, seven, SEVEN times. Asthma, ear infection, sinus infection, and high fever viruses were a few of diagnoses that lead to a month long cough, snot, and whine fest in our home. Additionally, Lindsay is no longer commuting to Oklahoma but has begun working at a Charlotte based private equity firm, so we're all adjusting to our new normal with him around during the work week. For the kids this really just means Daddy can take them to school or tuck them in at night; for me this means dusting off my cookbooks and eating something besides Nilla Wafers for dinner, doing a few more loads of laundry, and watching a tad less reality television at night.
Let's get down to business, the Sweetest Things of the third quarter of 2013...

1. Variety Vactionland... I remember very few things from any history class I've ever taken, but when our seventh grade North Carolina history teacher taught us that North Carolina is often referred to as 'Variety Vacationland, this phrase stuck with me. I recalled it many, many times when living in states that did not fit this description. (Being landlocked = no bueno.) During the month of July, we took advantage of both the gorgeous beaches and serene mountains of our great state. I LOVE the fact that in roughly three hours on a road trip, we can be in either location. We spent five days in Wrightsville Beach in early July, even celebrating my birthday during our stay.
   
   Perfect ending to my birthday night?
   Under the cover selfies with my Murph.
   
   Suuuuper Baby! 
   (On the rainy days, we were oh-so-thankful for the indoor pool!)
   Our girls soaked up every second from sandcastle building and 'surfing' to hanging out in the kids' club and staying up late. 
   
   Best pic we got of the three.
   With the bright sun, I am surprised any eyes are open.
   
    Laying on the cute to beg for icecream.
   Then, in late July, we met up with one our most favorite families for several days in Cashiers. I had been to the Blowing Rock area of our state several times, but had never before visited the Highlands/Cashiers vicinity. You can be sure we'll be going back, though. It was GORGEOUS.
   
   The screened-in porch with its swing/sofa/bed 
   was a favorite spot for young and old.
   The temperatures were mild, and the mountain town feel was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of real life.
   
   Daddy and Carter took an afternoon trip to a local waterfall.
   Can't wait till our whole crew is big enough for this sort of fun!
   Traveling with six kids ages five and below does not exactly constitute a vacation. Those six kids don't take 'vacations' from their basic requirements, i.e. baths, three meals a day every-single-day, naps, stories, entertainment... Our days were full to say the least.
   
   A morning splash.
   
   After dinner relay races.
   Though the days were hectic, sipping wine, chatting with Kyndal, and listening to our talented hubbies strum their guitars made the whole trip feel like a real vacation. 
   
   Our family.
   
   The whole lot of us.
   (Remembering this makes me all kinds of happy!)
2. Not-So-Hot Summer... spend five minutes around me on a relatively hot day or in a somewhat hot room, and you'll quickly realize that I just don't do hot. I find myself getting irritable when the temperatures are rising even slightly. Fortunately, both for me and those around me, this summer in Charlotte was ridiculously mild; the thermometer barely hit 90 degrees all summer thus making outdoor activities quite pleasant. One of our favorite new (rediscovered in a family friendly way, really) finds this summer was The Green uptown. Several weekend evenings, we'd head over after naps for dinner at Fuel and fountain playing for the girlies. 
   
   After our first visit,
   we learned to pack swimsuits.
   
   Photo-op I couldn't resist.
   
   Perfectly content remaining dry on Mommy's lap.
   
   Upped the fun quotient when cousins tagged along.
   (We seem to have a surplus of girls in our life.)
   For my birthday in July, Lindsay surprised me (really, surprised me. I did not see this gift coming.) with a bicycle with a baby seat already installed. I LOVED this instant motivator to both enjoy the outdoors and get moving. At one time or another, each girlie has spent time riding not-shotgun.
   
   Carter provides the toughest workout, 
   Murphy keeps me entertained, and Wrighty falls asleep almost immediately.
   I'm so thankful to look back on our summer days and feel like I actually got outside and enjoyed them rather than being a summer hibernator basking in the comfort of an air conditioner.
   
   Mild afternoon + a fresh peach = Summertime perfection
3. Back in the Swing of Things... for as much as I was loving our lazy summer days in June and July, by the time August rolled around, I was itching to get back into a routine. By then, all the girls' camps were finished and our trips had been taken. The big girls had spent time with Lindsay's family for camp Tulsa and then several days with my family for Vacation Bible School. The pool didn't have its same sparkling appeal that it did when it was a new and fresh activity just after Memorial Day. We did enjoy a few late summer field trips to non-animal centric spots. We made several trips to Discovery Place Kids, even buying an annual pass (just call me mom of the year.) 
   
   Water table fun at the peak of her 'snuffy' face habit.
   
   Just hanging out in the coral reef.
   
   Murphy's favorite area is the grocery store.
   She may or may not have bullied an eight year old for this buggy.
   
   Keeping her eggs warm.
   Cluck. Cluck.
   We also spent a morning uptown at ImaginOn for a little literary inspiration followed, of course, by a little pizza inspiration courtesy of Brixx. 
   
   Feeling very city-ish waiting for the train to pass.
   I guess to truly be city-ish, we would have ridden the train...
   Regardless of these last ditch efforts at some kid-sized fun, the girlies, like me, were definitely in need of both a set regimen and a companion whose last name was not Lewellen. Fortunately, August did not creep by too slowly, and it was time for Carter to head off to kindergarten. I heard moms talking about feeling sad about sending their babies off to big school, even shedding a bucket of tears over it... not this Momma! I was as excited for Carter to begin this chapter of her little life as she was.
   
   Now, I'm not going to pretend that getting out of bed before 7:00 AM is fun or has come totally naturally. I actually can't recall a time in my life since highschool that I have ever gotten up this early on a regular basis, and I dread the sound of the alarm just as much now as I did back then. I was shocked, though, at how easily our little Night Owl adapted to an earlier bedtime. Six weeks into school, I do still dress sleeping beauty under the covers every morning, carry her limp body downstairs, and set her at the breakfast table where she typically falls forward onto the table. But, by the time we're on the way to school - listening to our 'Jesus music' to start the day on a positive note - she's usually pretty perky. 
   She rides the school bus home and is pretty good about sharing at least a few details of her day. A kinder highlight so far? Being the bathroom monitor. Why? "Because you get to say, 'Shhhhhhhh!' when people are talking and it's ok to tattle." She is her mother's daughter. 
   Just a couple of weeks after Carter got into her kinder-rythm, it was time for Murphy to start her second year of preschool. Miss Murphy was stoked to start school and couldn't wait to see her school friends and meet her new teacher.
   
   Murph wore this black 'yeotard' everyday  that it was clean 
   until the early mornings became to cool for it.
   She marches into her classroom every morning, tosses her backpack into her cubby, and throws me a 'peace-out, Mom' kind of wave. She carries a comb and a yipschtick to school with her every morning, and once requested that I bring her 'the one from New York City' (a fancy new Marc Jacobs' shimmer) rather than her typical Mac shade. The little diva has turned Little Church on the Lane into her own personal runway. 
4. Bestie (and Baby and Boys) Bonding...back in June, my dearest girlfriend from my tween years, my roommate for four years of college, and that person who knows all my dirty little secrets (and loves me still!) was diagnosed with breast cancer. [Bear with me, this is going somewhere very sweet, I promise.] Though I was overcome with deep sadness and wrought with questions of 'Why her, Lord?', I also wanted to step right in an help in any way possible. Like me, she's a momma to three little ones, and I took advantage of every opportunity to love on her littles as their 'summer vacation' became overrun with their mommy's appointments, diagnostic procedures, tests, and treatments. 
   
   Sweet Emerson and Baby Wright.
   A month apart in age; miles apart in hair growth and foot size.
   I absolutely loved the opportunity to get to bond with my 'nephews' and 'niece' in a deeper way that would not have happened otherwise. And I loved that they thought of Aunt Mellie Mel's house as a fun spot where the treats flow freely; not sure they'd ever seen such a vast collection of sprinkles.
   
   Eli loved loading up my iPad with all his favorite apps,
   
   and even tolerated a double-dose of smooches while he played.
   More than once, I've stopped to thank God that in His master plan and infinite wisdom, He placed us in this exact place at just this time. I would have felt sad and utterly helpless to still be living two time zones away from my dear Holly.
   
   Can't imagine two cuter minies in this Mini.
   
   Pin-up girl.
   Our prayers with the girls began to include healing for Aunt Lala and wisdom for her doctors. Of course, Carter was most interested in how silly it was that Aunt Lala's medicine would make her hair fall out and make her 'bald like a baby'. 
   
   Can't. Handle. The. Cute.
   While I certainly wish the circumstances that created the opportunity for all this bonding had been different, I loved watching my bestie's babies bond with mine. I hope they continue to grow up thinking of each other much more like real family than just regular friends. 
   Another sweet, sweet thing that's happened as a result of this ugly, ugly disease is the joy it's been to watch Holly's faith grow and her countenance glow in the midst of it all. She has been an inspiration, not to just me, but to all of those she encounters. Oh, and as for that cancer? She is totally rockin' it out, as my Murphy would say. 
5. NYC...as soon as my physical presence was no longer required for Baby Wright's basic survival (i.e. when I stopped breastfeeding), Lindsay and I got an immediate itch to get away sans girlies. Without even discussing it with each other, we were both - separately - planning a weekend in NYC. I was casually browsing hotels, shops, and restaurants online while he was actually booking flights and buying show tickets. I loved that not only did we both have the 'Let's get away!' idea, but we were completely like-minded as to what that would look like. I can't even articulate how much I needed both the time away from the kiddos and with my husband. Just feeling like me, Melissa, a woman, a wife - rather than Mooooommmmmmyyyyyy! - for four days was so nice. We began our Friday morning with brunch at Balthazar, which, of course, included a 10 AM bellini for me; we were, after all, on vacation. 
   
   Couldn't help but take curious note of the whole cronut craze 
   as we passed this line on our walk to brunch.
   We casually meandered around the city making a stop at my one 'must-do' of our trip: a visit to the Barney's shoe department for boots. As I debated between the tall, black moto style and the shorter brown style, Lindsay said, 'Just get both.' Ahh, the three little words we wives really want to hear. 
   
   I fell in love with him a little bit more 
   as I carried that bag out of the store.
   It had been ten years since we'd been to the City together. On that first trip, we'd taken a picture in front of Serendipity 3 that has remained one of our favorites.
   
   We were babies, and now we have babies.
   Though we didn't go inside to feast on the deliciousness that is Frozen Hot Chocolate, we did stop to recreate that photo.
   
   Hey, lady, why don't you just go ahead and ruin our picture?
   That's cool because
   
   I really prefer this one where my shirt is so awkwardly bunched 
   that I appear six months pregnant. 
   [Grrrrrr...]
   The weather truly could not have been any more perfect during our trip, sunny and mild every day, and our rooftop pool was a great venue to soak it all in.
   
   
   Loved my view(s).
   
   A sweet treat that was mine all mine.
   {This never happens when my three little crumb-snatchers are around.}
   Lindsay and I had been wanting to see 'Book of Mormon' ever since it first hit the Broadway stage. He scored some killer seats to the always sold out show, and we laughed and laughed through most all of it. (There were a few elements that were a bit too blatantly blasphemous for me.)
   
   Husband and wife.
   {Makeup by the AH-MA-ZING David @ Sephora, Meatpacking.}
   We enjoyed all sorts of scrumptious food over the weekend, but my favorite for sure was the lunch we ate at Morandi. Each course was better than the next, and the outdoor dining provided my first (and only, despite much stranger stalking) celebrity sighting of the trip.
   
   Can't say spotting Mario Batali's 
   croc-ed feet really left me starstruck.
   
   This heirloom tomato, plum, and mozzeralla salad though?
   It left me speechless.
   On Saturday night we met up with the whole First Union/Wachovia/Wells Charlotte crew for a fabulous evening of catching up and, of course, more great food. I always enjoy our time together and get a kick out of how different our life in Charlotte is from theirs in NYC. Lindsay and I were the first of the bunch to get married and the only ones who have any children (which would help explain why the idea of beginning dinner at 9 PM was mind-blowing to us.)
   
   The fellas and me.
   (Waaaaaaayyyyyy past my bedtime.)
   On our final morning in the city, we did give in to the cronut craze. Rather than waking up before dawn and standing in the line around the block, we paid a dude from Craig's List to do it for us.
   
   Worth. Every. {Delicious.} Penny
   Our weekend in New York was just the best,  and, I can't wait to get back up there. Although, I have to say that I'm envisioning our next trip including a stop at FAO Schwarz and perhaps a stay in the Eloise room at the Plaza. Getting away without kids is great, but so is exposing them to some American Amazingness. 
   
   
   I wrote the bulk of this post while sitting in my Grandma Margie's hospital room. Though I felt sad at her not being well, I felt so fortunate to be able there with her, providing love and care and companionship. 
   As I said, this time of reflecting on the all the sweet could have not been more opportune. Even with all the not so sweet things that are invading our lives without invitation, each day, regardless of its events, is gift. Simply living, just being is sweet.