My Weekend Had a Theme

Warning: this is not very Happy.

On Saturday, Roxy, Chris and I were honored to attend a small birthday celebration. There were balloons, cupcakes and beautiful gifts.

Roxy and her pink cupcake

The guest of honor, unfortunately could not physically be there to celebrate what would have been her 6th birthday. She was taken away from us six months before she could reach this milestone by a drunk driver. (You can read what I wrote about Lilly's story here and here and here.) Lilly's family is doing such a beautiful job honoring her and keeping her love alive.

Lanterns were released in her honor. Her 5th birthday party paid tribute to her love for Rapunzel, and if you've seen the movie Tangled, you know that lanterns lit up the night sky every year on Rapunzel's birthday.

Saturday night was beautiful, poetic and very healthy for the soul.

I wasn't going to blog about this, because it's really not my story to tell, but with the events of last night... if this post hits home to just one person to think twice about drinking and then sitting behind the wheel of a car... then it's worth it.

...

I grew up in a rather large network of Aunts, Uncles and cousins. My Mom was one of 7 children, so you can imagine. My memory is not very good (one of the reasons I started this blog was to record precious memories before they became too foggy), but I will never forget those many weekend afternoons running around my Nanny and Pappy's backyard playing with all my cousins. We were a close family. A lot of us even danced together, in a group called the Guys and Dolls Cloggers. (Now that's something I don't say out loud often.)

One of my cousins, Paul S. Burnett II lost his life last night in an accident where "alcohol was a contributing circumstance to the collision". Pauly was my age, a loving husband and father to three children.

I admit that when I moved millions of miles away from home when I was 19, I sadly lost touch with my cousins I was once so close to. I haven't seen Pauly since I was a teenager. Nevertheless, he and every one of my cousins will always hold a special place in my heart. Cousins are our very first non-sibling friends forever.

My heart is breaking for my family back home. Pauly's wife and his children. His Mom, his sister and brother. I loathe the distance between here and home today. My love and support goes out to all hurting today from afar.

You can read about the accident here.

Please don't drink and drive. Think about the innocent victims of these tragedies.
There is always a safer way to get from point A to point B.

<3, Tabi :D

Parent Tip #102

This one is simple.

And keep it off as long as possible. I promise, creativity will ensue.

<3, Tabi :D

Five Things That Make Me Happy Friday

It's that time of the week again. Welcome to the third edition of Five Things That Make Me Happy Friday. For the first two, click here and here.

Go!

(1.) This drawing my darling Roxy made for her friend Lilly. It's her birthday tomorrow. (2.) Mucinex D. I wouldn't have been able to function this week without this miracle drug. This stuff is serious, behind-the-pharmacy-counter-serious. (3.) My Bear and his Baby. Baby Darth. They were playing Sonic and having serious conversations. It was too cute!

(4.) I clicked a link on Facebook one day this week and found this guy. Go ahead, click it. His stuff is super rad. One day, I will totally redecorate the boys' room and hang a couple of his prints. (5.) Kristen Bell and her sloth story on Ellen. I dare you to watch this and try not to laugh out loud. I LOL'd. Eye teary LOLing.



Till the next post... have a wonderful weekend!

<3, Tabi :D

Short Term Goal: Feel Better

This weeks goal was supposed to be to focus on losing 5 pounds. But I don't feel good, so eff that!

I am so impatient. It's who I am, <queue whiny voice> I feel like I've been sick forever!! I was starting to think that I'm just getting old and this is what old people feel like.

But I know that is not right.

My body is strong and I know I can kick this, but I did a little research on how to feel better and came across this interesting article. I already lead a pretty healthy lifestyle, but I know I can make some major improvements.

A couple things I need to work on:

• More/Better sleep. This means I have to work on helping Zoie sleep better, and weaning her from mid-night nursing - an issue I've been dreading to address.
• More sex. This will also help with someone else's well being, too. ;)
• Eat more fruits and veggies. I always shove these down my kids' throats <not literally>, then forget to eat them myself.
• Allow myself to rest when I don't feel well. This is especially hard for me. Not just because I have three young children, but also because doing nothing causes me great anxiety.

Some surprising things I learned from this article:

• These things (that I do) help you live longer: happy marriage, eating chocolate, having lots of kids (three and a half kids is a lot, right?).
• Sex and staying married helps you look younger. 
• Onions and garlic are good for your immune system. I love onions and I love garlic! Perhaps this is why my immune system is usually pretty iron clad?
• And this: "German scientists found that the earlier in life a woman has sex, the less stressed she is as an adult. They found that the lowest levels of stress hormone were among those who had had sex at the youngest age. A similar effect was found in men." 

LOL! @ this:

9. Make music: Playing a wind instrument can improve muscle tone and appearance. It keeps skin taut and looking younger. An hour of blowing burns 200 calories.

 I'm so immature. :D

Anyways, this is my goal: To Feel Better. Today, while I have extra help (from Christopher), I am working on trying to rest because I feel like crap. After I scrub the toilets.

<3, Tabi :D