10 Things I Love About This Week.

1. Chicago days that settle comfortably in the upper 70s, letting us forget that thermals and triple layers ever needed to exist [last month].

2. Lilacs and hyacinth and linden and other sweet-smelling things which waft into [crazily/newly] opened windows.

3. Helping out in my kiddo's preschool and seeing her as a Big Kid.

4. Grass picnics. Bench picnics. Concrete stoop picnics.

5. Watching The Jungle Book in bed with my kids, eating popcorn and reveling in the fact that, as an adult, I get to make the plans and rules and spending the evening like this is one of them.

6. Walking to one's destination out of pleasure- and not because you've checked the Bus Tracker and nothing's due for at least another forty minutes and we may all die from the biting wind if we remain still.

7. My daughters reading together, all snuggled up like no one's even making them.

8. Eating a gargantuan tub of Graeter's black raspberry chip ice cream with my husband because this is another one of those plans and/or rules.

9. Writing. Writing stuff that makes me happy and makes me feel intelligent and makes someone else go "Oh, wow. She knows what's what. We should give her some money for this sort of thing."

10. The closing weekend of my show. Which means that it was awesome and real and it really, awesomely happened.

That'll do, Week, that'll do.

Big Girls Wear Pigtails. (And Orange Shirts.)

And then there are the days you realize that your "baby" is old enough to rock some downright Seussian pigtails.

And this jogs your memory...so you go back through your [ahem] meticulously curated batch of computer photos from two years ago. And you find this picture, from roughly the same age with roughly the same outfit.

And you admit to yourself that you have a predilection for dressing toddlers in pigtails and peachy shirts. 

It could easily be much worse.

But it's darn near impossible to get much cuter.

Johnson & Johnson's For All You Love.

Johnson & Johnson has a new campaign that makes me feel so incredibly warm and gooey. It's called For All You Love, and it applauds the selflessness and generosity of caregivers (including Moms!) and shares all the ways people extol that love. In celebration of Mother's Day, Johnson & Johnson is donating 25k to Save the Children, an organization committed to helping mothers and children world-wide. Which is pretty spectacular.

Here's a short (and adorable) introductory vid for your viewing pleasure: (PSA: This video has made me tear up and snarfle some I'm-Not-Crying tears. I think it may be the song. Or the babies. Or the sentiment. Either way, enjoy!)

Four years ago, I was a gal who was deathly afraid of needles. Despite this, I applied for the job of Carrying A Baby To Term and underwent a rigorous application process. It involved blood draw after blood draw after blood draw (leading me to suspect that they had a master plan of draining me dry over 40 weeks), and ultimately culminated with me walking in to the O.R. to remove my stuck child with the help of an IV and a big ol’ spinal.

Close to two years later- and with the exact same pinchy application process- I became a branch manager.

Each time, I found myself eagerly waking to the sounds of my daughters’ midnight cries for food and comfort and perhaps a clean diaper because a) endorphins are very real, very funny things, and b) I was thrilled to be the CEO of my new corporation, Moms With The Necessary Equipment ‘R Us. (Me.)

This job isn't for the faint of heart. The hourly wage is lousy, and is usually paid out with Hello Kitty cash, pre-chewed. Office tantrums can halt an entire day’s progress. And the working conditions can be downright harsh/sticky/loud.

But I've cheerfully trudged through. I've gotten used to fewer (and lesser quality) hours of sleep. Showers have become a luxury- and one that can easily be pushed back a few hours/days if someone needs to be comforted after a nightmare or convinced that her Goldfish aren't “feeling angry.” And on at least one unfortunate occasion, I've crushed a yellow-jacket in my bare hand to spare my kid’s forehead (and simultaneously made up a story about Bee Heaven).

That’s not to say that this position doesn't have its bonuses.

Because for every 2am shower-steaming session, every 6am sheet-changing escapade, and every 11am suspicious thud followed by a panicked “Mom,” there’s a traced hand proudly presented on a construction paper heart. A freshly shampooed head resting on my shoulder that can make me feel like childhood will last forever. And the crazy knowledge that, for all the degrees and training sessions in the whole wide world, not one person could be my kids’ mother better than me.

Who needs overtime pay?

***

JOHNSON’S® Baby has established JOHNSON’S® Baby CARES Care Cards, a digital e-card platform encouraging moms to share positive messages of encouragement with other moms across the country, while simultaneously supporting Save the Children®.  You can help, too!  Simply pick and share a card filled with messages of reassurance for a Mom in your life on Facebook at http://www.johnsonsbabycares.com. For every card sent, shared or liked, JOHNSON’S®  Baby will donate $1.00 to Save the Children® (up to $150,000) to benefit early childhood education programs that foster education and reassurance for new moms. These cards will not only spread encouragement to Moms throughout the country but will also provide Moms in need with the skills and knowledge to successfully support their child’s growth.

I was compensated for my work with Johnson & Johnson, but opinions are my own. 

Mother's Day Rocks My Face Off.

Mother's Day is awesome.

As I described the events of my Sunday to my youngest sister, she expressed surprise that Mother's Day seemed even better than my birthday. And I told her that it kinda-sorta-almost was. (Which is a mammoth statement, coming from one who believes that those cardboard punch-out birthday card crowns and badges need to be worn for an entire birthday week.)

Because here's the thing: once you're a Mom, there's always this guilt of "Oh, don't fuss over me/ I'd really prefer to get the juice from the top shelf, myself." I mean, I celebrate, but then usually help with the kitchen cleanup and bathtime dousing of the smallest party guests.

The crew with whom I roll.

But Mother's Day seems directly tied to the actual work I'm doing all year long. Which makes it like a mandatory office party. And everyone knows you don't blow off a mandatory office party, amiright?

Here's how my co-workers celebrated me:

-I slept in until 8am. (Some of my childfree friends are probably like- that sounds horrific. Was your house on fire? But seriously, 8am feels like sleeping the clock 'round. And that's just when I naturally woke up, being all like I have missed the entire morning.)

-Breakfast at my favorite brunch spot, Victory's Banner. (I got to shower- solo- while P.J. wrangled the girls and packed a diaper bag!) And everyone was on their best behavior, even P.J.

-Oh, when we got home, I took a two hour nap.

-Drove to Marshalls BY MYSELF, spent a [Christmas] gift card, and got two new springtime dresses.

-Used a [Valentine's Day] gift card and got Dunkin' Donut treats to bring back to everyone.

-Watched Muppets From Space with my daughters. Their inaugural viewing. And they totally dug it. [Drop the Parenting Mic, I'm out.]

-Shared a couple of our favorite dishes from the Chinese place up the street with the girls for dinner. (Although that may also have been to cut down on dishes- had I mentioned that P.J. had spent this entire day cleaning the house? He totally did.)

-After we got the girls tucked in, Peej and I watched the noir thriller Tension. It was so exciting that P.J. actually stayed awake until the last ten minutes. (Which is huge for him.)

It was a beyond-perfect day. And to add to this Maternal Fest O' Awesome, my newest nephew was born on Thursday night! My sister and bro in-law were thrilled to welcome Garrett David to their crew of terrific[ly] handsome guys. And as soon as I remember which Olympic teams require four players, I'll totally make that joke here.

Contemplating getting eaten by his Auntie Keely.

And rounding out this week of motherly appreciation is the 80th birthday of our Armenian side of the family's matriarch, my Auntie Joan! Tomorrow is her big day/start of a shiny new decade, and I think we should all celebrate by allowing her to make her world-famous green chili enchiladas for us. (Because that's what Armenians do when they move to Arizona- perfect their recipes for Mexican food.)

The superstar matriarch and her beloved husband.

Happy birthday, Auntie Joan! May we have decades more of fun and potential over-indulging together.

And welcome to the world, Garrett! I already love your edible cheeks and chill demeanor.

And and a humongo thank you to my dream guy Peej for hiring me for my favorite job yet- and to our two little fairy princess sledgehammers for making me feel like a superhero each and every day.

A superhero with oatmeal in her hair.