Happy 12th Birthday Cailin Anne

One month ago my sweet Cailin turned 12. We are now 30 days closer to having a teenager, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how this happened! It seems like just yesterday that I was the one wearing bonne belle lip smackers (Dr. Pepper flavor) and riding my bike back and forth to my best friend Stacy's house. Shouldn't I be the one tying up the phone chatting endlessly about nothing, and not my firstborn, who now texts rather than calls, and sends pictures and messages just as silly as mine, albeit more tech savvy?



How can it be my child who is now consumed with her clothes (and rolls her shorts up twice at the waistband until I pull them down!) and the mirror? The same girl who just last year was still wearing her old tattered preschool jammies ( and yes, they were much too small!), now wants to shop only at Aeropostale. Instead of me complaining that nothing is made to fit petite figures, it is now my girl, crying over the fact that while everyone else can shop in the junior department, she is still stuck in children's sizes, also known as "babies" according to her.


Wow. These days came much sooner than I was prepared for, and I find myself desperate to hold on to "Cailin the child", and not quite ready for "Cailin the pre-teen". I love her so much, and every stage has truly been delightful, but I have entered each one kicking and screaming, and this one is no exception. Even though she is appropriately more concerned with appearance and friends, I'm thankful that she remains pretty grounded and respectful, even still enjoying time with her family.

I wish time would slow down, but since it won't I'm going to enjoy these days, watching the metamorphosis of growth in my firstborn.

And They're Off!

Nana and Papa pulled up at 8:30 a.m., and were greeted by two overjoyed girls bouncing off the front porch with luggage in tow. The girls had decided to wait in the front porch rockers, so they didn't lose valuable time waiting for them to walk up the driveway and ring the bell. Too sweet! Why the rush? Well, this is the first camping trip of the season, actually the inaugural trip for the new 5th wheel camper Nana and Papa just had to have, so their girls could sleep in bunk beds and have their own little cozy space.

Someone once told my parents to enjoy the grandchildren when they are little, because there will be a day when they don't always want to hang with you. Well, they took it to heart and do their best to soak up the lovin' while it lasts. I have no fear of things changing anytime soon... these girls are crazy for their grandparents that once they take off with them we almost have to abduct them to get them home!

Adding to the excitement of this trip, though, is the added bonus of heading to a location the girls have dreamed of since reading "Misty of Chincoteague" a few years ago. Finally, they get to experience the destination I was blessed to visit summer after summer, Chincoteague Island, Virginia. They are so eager to see the wild ponies that roam the island (actually they are on Assateague Island), see the lighthouse, ride their bicycles all over this quaint little fishing village, and go crabbing for the first time.

We are heading over to meet them this weekend, and the memory of driving over the bridge and crossing into town gives me butterflies in my stomach. The last time I visited was on my honeymoon, 17 years ago. I can't wait to see things through the eyes of the girls, and show them all my old favorite places, including where Mommy and Daddy shared the first days of our married life. (Somehow I think they will find this far less interesting than an actual pony sighting!)

Ironic how life really does go full circle. The first time I visited Chincoteage I was 12 years old, and now I am returning, seeing it through the eyes of my own 12 and 10 year old daughters. What joy!

A Few Rocks Loose

Edited to add: My Mom saved the day, as usual! While I was at VBS with Cailin Monday evening, she came by and neatly reassembled my wall. It looks great! My Mom rocks... pun intended:-)

So we moved into our new home two months ago, and it has pretty much rained nonstop ever since. Rusty has been hobbling around in a back brace, unable to bend over, and I have been scrambling just to maintain. Not progress, necessarily, just maintain. We have great plans for our home, and can't wait to turn it into the show place we can envision, but with busy schedules and a recovering husband, we haven't been able to implement them yet. Oh, yes, and we also are waiting for the architectural review committe to approve our "radical" color choices of black shutters and red doors, as opposed to the current faded hunter green.

The house sat empty for 6 months, so there were a lot of maintenance things that required our immediate attention, such as a new water filtration system, exterminator treatment, gutters full of leaves and a lawn that is growing at the speed of light. We inherited a pseudo- retaining "wall" at the front of the property, which never has appealed to me, but seems to have potential in Rusty's eyes. The problem with it, is that it consists of stacked rocks which pitch forward and refuse to stay in place, an ironic dilemma for something supposedly supporting the dirt behind it. Nevertheless, it could be beautiful given much time and attention, and undoubtedly some money for good measure. All things we are currently in short supply of. Basically the wall is on our list, but it hasn't inched its way to the top, just yet.

So today as I sat with my girlfriend Susan, chatting and eating pizza while my fresh from the shower wet hair dries into a frizz, the neighborhood association president stops by to ask me if I (or my children- small girls, by the way!) could pick up the loose rocks in the wall because "people have been complaining about it". You have got to be kidding me. I'm not talking a stone wall that has fallen down into rubble here. I'm talking about a 3 row high stone edging for a flower garden, with rocks kicked loose from the deer who clamber up the incline on a nightly basis. You can barely even notice them. I mean, we don't intend to leave them, but to complain about them?? Seriously??

I took the girls to see what we could do, and the answer is nothing. Those rocks aren't light, and they aren't budging! So I guess we will be forking over some cash this weekend, to repair the wall that I don't even like.

Let's hope they don't peek inside the house. After this weekend's festivites they may see worse than a few loose rocks!