Kyla Rose and Brittain had the opportunity to have not one, but two playdates in a row a couple of weekends ago. Kyla Rose and her mommy came to Griffin for a weekend visit, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Not only did the girls have fun, but Amanda and I got in some good adult mommy gossip in between yelling things like, “No, the sand stays IN the sandbox,” and “No, the grass stays OUTSIDE the sandbox,” and “No, don’t go over there. You could fall off that cement wall and crack your skull open.”

Have I mentioned that I have the greatest sister ever?

I could tell you reasons on top of reasons of why this is. She’s my best friend. She’s there for me in happy times and in sad times…and she’s one of the most generous people that I know. And there are so many more reasons.

I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect Mother’s Day. Cecilia treated Mama and me (and Brittain tagged along, of course) to a weekend at the Ritz Carlton where she works. Not only did she shower us with gifts (and yes, I do mean shower) she also allowed me the weekend of relaxation that I’ve been dreaming about.

We spent the weekend lounging by the pool, eating fabulous food and spending time with the people we love the most. It was truly one of the most wonderful weekends I’ve had in a long time. Thank you, Cec. You are too good to me!

The Ritz has a S’mores set-up that we took advantage of BOTH nights we were there. Brittain was most excited that the marshmallows never ran out:

We came back to the room to give Mom her well-deserved Mother’s Day gifts. I thought this picture was hilarious. Brittain is looking at the In-Room Dining menu. She knew where she was and she planned on living the lifestyle that weekend!:

I love this picture. It’s sweet of Mama and Cecilia, but then Brittain is also holding up the card Cecilia gave Mom that says “Mama” on it right at the perfect moment:

Brittain never caught on to the fact that the gifts weren’t for her. The tissue paper was the greatest gift she could have asked for:

As I was working on posting these pictures, I took a moment to look back at our last trip to this Ritz with Brittain, which was last June. I couldn’t believe how much she had changed and also how different the trip itself was. The last time, we were only able to spend about 30 minutes outside and that whole time was spent in the baby pool. We had definitely moved up in the world:

The weekend wouldn’t have been the same had Aunt Susan not been able to come. Cecilia invited me, Mom and Aunt Susan because she wanted to be able to celebrate our special mothers. Aunt Susan is just like a mother to us and is certainly one of the most special people in Brittain’s life:

The grounds are so beautiful, it’s almost impossible not to take good pictures. On Saturday, there was a wedding right outside our porch. Cecilia, Brittain and Aunt Susan went out to catch a sneak peak. Here are some of the pictures that Aunt Susan and Cec captured:

Before we left to go to the Ritz, we were checking the weather only to find that the forecast said rain for the whole weekend. We debated whether or not we should try and reschedule the weekend, but thought better of it. I’m so glad we didn’t reschedule because we couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather. These next three pictures are some of my favorite of Brittain and me. Before we went to dinner Saturday night we stepped outside quickly and Aunt Susan took these. They make me smile:

It’s always easy to catch good pictures of these two:

We partook in the S’mores after dinner:

One of my favorite pics from the weekend:

Mother’s Day wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to Gramy.  I have to tell you that my appreciation and respect have grown since becoming a mother myself.  We have such a wonderful family unit here and we are incredibly fortunate to have so much help when we need it.  We managed to squeeze a short visit in just to say, “thanks.”

I am definitely positive that this is my favorite life. I know that makes no sense, especially since we all have one life (here on earth). But what I’m saying is that if I did have other lives, this would most certainly be my favorite.

There are some days that it’s kind of difficult to realize this. You know what I mean. It’s those days when you need to run a quick errand to the grocery to pick up some MORE milk because you forgot to pick up 3 GALLONS to last through the week. The 10 minute run turns into an hour because you have to fix the diaper bag, (since you should always assume that she will poop in the short time you are out), and that she will also need a cup of milk, a cup of juice, some goldfish, marshmallows, some fruit snacks, and a fruit strip. So, you pack all of that up, then spend the time making sure she is snug and secure in her carseat and then drive to the store. Once you get into the store only to grab the milk, the almost 2 year old ends up dashing to one end of the store to the other picking up everything that’s at eye level. You have to put everything back (in approximately the right place) while also holding her with the other arm so she won’t pick up anything else. Then, to top it all off, you end up being VERY disappointed because you didn’t have the chance to look at the cover of the new US weekly magazine to learn the latest on Brittany Spears (no, I wouldn’t dare buy one because it would rot in my house from never being read). You put her back in the car to go home and she spends the ride home screaming for milk (which is the one thing she decided to partake in on the way TO the store) so now it’s all gone. So you arrive at home with a broken arm (from carrying a 27 lb. child for longer than you should) and all you really want to do is take a very long nap because the hour grocery store trip completely tired you out. You soon realize that will never happen when she is repeating over and over again in a whiny voice, “Hold you? hold you?”

But then there are other days – like the recent day that I had to go to Lowe’s to buy paint so that I could paint my bathroom countertop because I hate it and we didn’t want to spend the money on a new one (only to end up buying a new one because the painting of the countertop didn’t work). The trip to a place other than our home began like all the others. I put her in the buggy and she lasted 37 seconds where she then yelled that she wanted to get down, so I got her down and she proceeded to pull things off the shelves while I was trying to choose the perfect paint color for my countertops that would end up being for naught. She finally asked me to hold her which brought on mixed feelings because then I knew that my left arm was about to go numb from holding the 27 lb. child as I attempted to look at paint swatches with the other arm, but I also knew this would keep her from pulling more things off the shelves. But then it happened.

She said, “I tired.” So I said, “lay your head on mommy’s shoulder.” She said, “okay.” So, she laid her head on my shoulder. I then felt her raise her head, and giving me the sweetest smile that ever existed she said, “I so glad to see you.” I took a moment and just stood there because time seemed to stand still and I wanted to commit that moment to memory.

Oh yes, THIS is my favorite life.

I’m pretty sure I hate this picture because I have lots of little lines around my eyes that I try to ignore most days.  And I also have something in my teeth.  But I love the look on my little girl’s face.  So, I don’t really care about the lines or the food in my teeth (that Brittain forgot to tell me about).