mish-mash post, yep- that's how i roll

item #1: yesterday was national siblings day!

i started to post last night, 

but sleepiness forced me to head to bed instead.

better late than never, right?

i am the oldest of four kids; 

we are all two years apart.

me, then jonathan, rebecca & aaron.

through the many seasons of siblinghood,

despite the different paths we have each walked,

(isn't it kind of funny how you are all a part of the same family but your memories and experiences 

within that same family are totally different and unique? 

once i heard a family experience described as one big pizza 

but you each get a different slice.)

i am so grateful for all three of my siblings.

my friend nancy always says, "the ruff children are lovers." 

she's right; for better or worse, 

all four of us put our hearts into whatever little world we are in.

i love my siblings

& 

really

without each of them

i would be much less interesting and much more selfish.

in other words

they've made me, me.

i can't imagine life without them.

so happy sibling day to

my brother johnny 

sisterbear rebecca

and my brother aaron, who i usually call b 

(maybe because i've had multiple siblings it is hard for me to imagine raising just two kids. and yet, most of the time i think we are probably done with kiddos. i can't quite reconcile it in my mind and heart. don't get me wrong, we have plenty of sibling drama and fighting in our family history, but still, the good outweighs the hard. there's a whole lot of crazy, but it's also a whole lot of fun.)

item #2: tomorrow is little m's birthday.

FOUR years old.

as in, i can't believe she's going to be 4 and i'm kind of freaking out.

i've been thinking about life before our girls;

i stumbled onto this picture of matt & i i biking in italy when i was preggers with m!

oh, the freedom to galavant about foreign countries.

but, wow, we have laughed a lot with these kids around.

(by the way, this picture makes me want to go back to italy.)

four.years.old.

 

and ruby will be two next month! TWO!

no more babies in my house, waaah, waaah. 

i'm so sad.

item #3: also, this weekend it was my dear, but too far away, friend daphne's birthday.

(and guess what, yes, she is mid-word in this photo but how cute is her jacket and 

also she is usually mid-word when she's with me, or mid-listen to my mid-word)

she's such a good friend -

so thoughtful,

always willing to schlep across the country to visit,

 who speaks wisdom into my life all the time,

who is a mean baker,

can talk about the meaning of life and grey's anatomy in one conversation,

who loves her little family to pieces,

who multi-tasks better than anyone i know,

and who never has a dirty dish in her sink.

oh, and she's really, really funny.

so happiest of birthday seasons to my dear daph.

(and you should read her blog)

item #4: freaking hunger games. i resisted for so, so long. 

and then, why not read it while the movie is in the theatre.

suddenly my bedtime was 2:30 in the morning.

but i finished it less than 24 hours after picking it up.

and thanks to my neighbor, the next two volumes are sitting next to me.

i'll be channeling my 20 year old self and staying up all night for a few nights this next week.

(who am i kidding? i do that anyway)