thirty.

tomorrow, i turn 30.  whether i like it or not (and currently i am not 30’s biggest fan).  30 is a mix of emotions.  it’s the least excited i’ve been to have a birthday ever.  it’s not really that i’m upset about getting old, although i do remember a time that i thought 30 would be cause for a mid-life crisis.  now that i’m staring it in the face, 30 doesn’t feel old at all (well, at least not old enough to warrant a crisis).  it does, however, seem like a good time for some reflection on the last 30 years, which i will not subject you to here.  but as i process through turning 30 tomorrow, i realize how blessed i am to have so many amazing people to do life with.  the weekend ahead will be full of celebrating with lots of those people.  it will be full of laughter, food, fun, and birthday cake (oh, the cake!).  memories will be made, and 30 will come whether i like it or not.  so, in honor of my 30th, here’s a picture from possibly the most awkward time of my life (thanks, kayla).  here’s hoping that the next 30 years will be kinder in the hair-do department.

the results are in…

…and leslie’s blood is perfect.  god is good (and i might be a little crazy, but i’m okay with that).

where to begin?

life is busy, busy, busy around here.  christmas was a whirlwind of princess dolls, dresses, and clothes.  both girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves, got entirely too many gifts, and lived on a steady diet of christmas cookies and candy.

2010 brought a return to some sense of normalcy in our lives, as michael returned to work after having a week off, leslie started school (with a new teacher), and lucy and i got back in the swing of our routine.

today, leslie went to the doctor because her mommy is nuts.  she’s had a low-grade fever for going on three weeks, and i had finally had enough.  so today, she stayed home from school and went to the doctor.  turns out she has an ear infection, but they went ahead and did a cbc just to make sure there’s nothing else going on.  if you’ve never taken your 3-year-old to the doctor with her baby sister and then to the lab to (!!!) have blood taken for the first time ever, i don’t recommend it.  especially if you just happen to go on the busiest day, at the busiest time, and have to wait an hour (yes, one hour) to have said blood drawn.  between chasing lucy around the waiting room and trying to convince leslie that she could not run out the door, this mommy was exhausted before we even began the process of needles, tubes, and vials.  needless to say, it was awful.  traumatic.  and probably unnecessary.  but i’ll feel better when i know for sure.  so please pray that leslie’s blood will be completely normal and that the fever is just some sort of fluke.

and now for a few pictures of the girlies:

if you give a kid a box of styrofoam

this is what will happen:

and then it will take you at least 2.5 hours to clean it all up.  if you are lucky, while you’re in the process of said clean-up, your smallest child will wander into the kitchen and destroy the 2 dozen cookies you just baked and decorated.  your day will be awesome.

thanksgiving…a little late

so, in an effort to update you on what the forston family has been up to, i figured i’d start where i left off.  our thanksgiving was full of family, food, and fun.  we hosted this year’s gathering and had a crowd of 11.  michael’s mom and dad came down from cincinnati, his sister was here from south carolina, his brother came from virginia, and we also had some of our family from in town.  we fixed a 26-pound turkey.  michael named him frank, and he was delicious.  of course, with all the food we had (and, trust me, we had LOTS of food) leslie and lucy’s favorite thing was:

DESSERT!

four years

four years ago today, michael and i were married.  the years since have been amazing.  it’s such a blessing to be able to share your life with your best friend and to wake up every morning knowing that you’re loved.  i know that some days i take that for granted and forget to be grateful.  but today, i am grateful.  grateful that michael loves me, even on the days that i am difficult to love.  grateful that he is such a wonderful father to leslie and lucy.  and grateful that i get to be his wife and do life with such an amazing partner.  happy fourth.  here’s to many, many more.

great wolf lodge

this weekend our family made the trip to great wolf lodge.  aside from a stomach virus that attacked us while we were there, we had a great time.  here are a few pictures (none of the actual waterpark, as i couldn’t figure out how to keep our camera dry).  if you haven’t been, you definitely need to go…but please don’t take along a stomach virus.

uncle erin

our family has had a busy november so far.  it’s been a good busy though, full of fun things that we get to do rather than not-fun things that we have to do.  for instance, last week, the girls’ uncle erin came for a quick visit to take some pictures and hang out.  in case you don’t know somebody like her, you should.  everyone should have an uncle erin in their life.  last year, after lucy was born, bridget came to visit and brought erin along.  pictures were taken, fun was had, and leslie fell in love.  a few days later, erin put our pictures on her blog.  leslie was looking at them with me and i asked her if she remembered who had come with aunt bridget and taken her picture.  ”uncle erin” was her response.  i guess in her two-year-old mind it just made sense that  since bridget was her aunt, erin should be her uncle.  and so erin became uncle erin.  and it stuck.  and i’m pretty sure that my girls are probably the only ones who will ever refer to her as their uncle.

 

on friday, we took uncle erin to the airport.  as she was giving goodbye hugs to the girls, leslie started admiring her necklace.  here was the exchange that took place:

 

leslie: i like your pretty necklace, uncle erin.

erin: thank you.

leslie: where’d you get it?

erin: at the store.

leslie: wow.

erin: do you want it?  here, you can keep it.

me: leslie, what do you say?

leslie: uncle erin, i’m so proud of you for sharing!

 

well, that necklace has stayed firmly around leslie’s neck since her uncle erin left.  she’s worn it swimming, sleeping, bathing, and for everything in between.  she has told total strangers that her uncle erin gave her this necklace because she loves her.  and today she told me that she’s going to wear it when she gets married.  one thing is for sure: uncle erin has captured my little girl’s heart.  i love that.

“i miss you, uncle erin…but i’m still wearing your necklace!”

happy halloween

finally

an update.  mostly in pictures because this mommy’s brain is too tired to form actual sentences.  so here goes.  first comes lucy’s birthday:

the morning of, she got chocolate donuts with a candle.  breakfast of champions.  she also got a fun telephone from her big sister.

her party was a couple days later.  family came from all over, and fun was had by all.  lucy especially enjoyed her birthday cake.

leslie has a fancy new addition to her big girl bed.  as if she didn’t already feel enough like a princess…

last week we took a family trip to evan’s orchard.  pumpkin patch and apple picking for all!

i love this one…that’s kayla in the background.

we’ve been busy.  leslie can’t wait for halloween.  tomorrow is trunk or treat at ma’s church.  friday is the ‘thriller’ dance downtown, and saturday is the official trick-or-treat.  by sunday she should be sufficiently sugared-up and exhausted, which could make for one cranky three-year-old.  pictures to come…