Most days anyway.

Years ago we were laying on our bed talking when he reached out, touched my upper lip and asked, “When are you going to take care of the mustache you’re sporting?”

Ahem. Excuse me??

Well, lucky for him, I knew he was swimming in an uncharted territory and completely nervous, which I found absolutely hilarious!

My response??  I laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

And then I waxed.

For years I’ve given him no end of grief abut this, but secretly, was thrilled that he felt it was safe enough to tell me!

From that day on, I’ve religiously waxed, not bleached, not ignored, but waxed that persistent fuzz growing on my upper lip.

Fast forward a few years to this December, 2008.  My dear attentive husband started a conversation with me with the following words, “Promise you won’t take what I say next personally?”

Um, NO!!  I can’t make that promise.  I take a lot of things personally!!

As I was telling him that I, under no circumstances, wanted to hear something that may hurt my feelings he blurted out, “You have really long nose hairs!  You need to trim them!”

????? Um OK?

Thank God for husbands like mine, huh?  Can you imagine what I’d look like without his help?

Shudder!! It would not be pretty!!

Anyways, immediately after I was enlightened to the fact that my unusually large nostrils had hair really long hair protruding out of them, I got down to the business of trimming last damn hair I could find.

When I finished the excavation I sadly realized that my nose now itched thanks to the small, stubby hairs that remained.

Now, when I say that I appreciate my husband’s honesty, I should also mention that this doesn’t give him a free pass.  Once he opens the door, I feel completely free to walk through it and continue to discuss my imperfections with him at will.

So, later in the day I walked up to Hub and part whined, part informed him how itchy my nostrles were.

His response?

“Better your nostrils itching than your upper lip!”

Really, what else was there to say?

On nose hairs and mustaches

Today was no exception.  BC has been feeling pretty sick this week.  We’ve spent every day, since Monday, near a toilet.  Hubby said that BC had the flu.  I didn’t believe him.  Aside from the incessant runs, BC seemed fine.

Until today.

First I got this photo sent to me just before 8:00 A.M.  BC sleeping anytime besides after 7:30 P.M. is absolutely unheard of.  This was not a good sign.

Then I got a text.

eClaire has the runs.  BC does too.

Crap.

eClaire clearly caught what BC has.

Then I got this photo.

It was decided that the kids would have a “Movie in Pajamas Day”.

Unfortunately that picture was shortly followed by the following text.

BC threw up all over the bed and himself.  Now he’s throwing up in the toilet.  AND eClaire is on the other toilet with the runs.

Needless to say, it was a rough day here.  None of us really smiled much today. BC’s never experienced throwing up before.  It freaked him the eff out.  Seriously.  I guarantee he will remember today for the rest of his life.

Hubby was an angel.  There was minimal complaining, loads and loads of laundry, two baths each, and a clean house by the time I got home.

Angel.  He earned a place in bed with me tonight!  Hehe    Thank goodness it’s a king sized bed though… neither one of us wants to risk breathing on the other for fear of passing the plague!

Crossing my fingers for two healthier kids by morning… hoping, but not expecting.

At least my house doesn’t smell like vomit.

Today you turned 32.  And although you’ve already had a chance to see this podcast, pictures and all, I wanted to post it here so you can come back when you might be doubting the impact you have on our children, or when you are feeling down.

The time you spend with us is profound.  The extra effort you put into getting eClaire to giggle is so wonderful.  The special attention you give BC when you teach him about science, earth, or just how to fix things around the house are forming lasting memories.

When you read to our children in the evenings, you solidify your presence in their lives.

The man you are comes through in the daily actions of your children.  Your daughter is meticulous.  Your son is a gentleman.  Your daughter a so very bright.  Your son is helpful and kind.  Your children reflect you.

I’ve added the video to this post for you to come back to every time you begin to wonder what you really mean to our kids.

You are the best man I know.

Happy Birthday.

Love,

Me

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Me: Nonnie’s dead.

Him: Call me!

Me: Never mind. Damn hamster is still alive

Him: Uhhh. Big Difference!!!!

Me: Ya. You wouldn’t have gotten a text for that. Duh!!

Him: Dork.

Him: I was all excited.

(about the hamster, not about my mom…let’s clarify.)

Me: Me too I poked it and she didn’t respond.  I think she’s on her way out though.  Crossing fingers.

Things get a little tricky when your son names his hamster after your mom!

Some things are better said than texted.

?????? Um, ok.…

I actually disagree!!    I believe this is sexy.  Oh and so is this.  And oddly, this as well…

But my first link is sexy enough to be revisited here.

Huh?  Don’t you agree!  SEXY!!!

Sexy is as sexy does.

Hubby and I took our first real vacation together since we were married six years ago.  And we took it without kids!!  Thanks to my mom and dad, we were given the gift of time to reconnect, relax, and enjoy Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.  It was gorgeous!!  Hubby decided to blog send daily emails to our family to let them know how our trip was going.  I called this a blogging, he did not.  Whatever.   Since he did the leg work, I thought I’d steal his words and sprinkle in a few additional pictures for your enjoyment! 

Well, the time has come to go. It is 12:30 on July 31st. We are sitting in the hotel lobby ready to go. We anxiously await getting back to the kids, but will definitely miss the beach and solace.

Yesterday was a good and productive day. We got some shopping done, as predicted, but decided that we needed to spend more time at the beach. So, we laid out there from about 3:00 pm until 7:30 pm. Then got ready to eat.

Dinner was alright. I had the veal while Nette had the tuna. They were good, but nothing to write home about.

Our journey home is beginning. We will be traveling for the next 10 hours or so. We miss you all and look forward to seeing you all within the next few weeks.

And this, my friends, is the end of my husband’s blogging days.  In the end, I’m really glad he narrated our daily activities.  It will help me remember our wonderful time together.

Thanks Hubby!!  Now if only we can take a vacation like this every year!!

The View From Here, Finale

Hubby and I took our first real vacation together since we were married six years ago.  And we took it without kids!!  Thanks to my mom and dad, we were given the gift of time to reconnect, relax, and enjoy Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.  It was gorgeous!!  Hubby decided to blog send daily emails to our family to let them know how our trip was going.  I called this a blogging, he did not.  Whatever.   Since he did the leg work, I thought I’d steal his words and sprinkle in a few additional pictures for your enjoyment! 

Good morning, everyone!  It’s now 10:40 am on Wednesday, July 30th. Nette and I just got back from breakfast where we had much of the same as yesterday. The plan for today is to walk downtown. We need to purchase our bus tickets for tomorrow to get back to the airport in time. Apparently the bus sells out sometimes, so we’re buying the tickets a day ahead. Besides that, there’s some shopping we’d like to do for the kids.

Yesterday was awesome. From 9:00 am until 4:00 pm, Nette and I laid on chaise lounge chairs at the beach. Whenever we got too hot, we’d simply go down, take a dip in the water, and come back up to the chairs. We both got a ton of reading done and some pretty good sunburns (despite being shaded almost the entire time). At about 2:30 pm a rainstorm got us, but it was still warm enough for us to stay at the beach as it passed.

(Note to self… next time hide all evidence of you being topless on the beach prior to taking the only photo of your hubby on the beach…)

At 4:00 pm we got up, came back to the room, cleaned up, and relaxed from our “exhausting” day at the beach. Then, it was off to happy hour. You already got that photo, but you may not have noticed what we were drinking. Nette got a Mai Tai while I got something they named after the hotel. It was just about as foofy as they come — it was pink. I love me my foofy drinks!

Dinner was a BBQ complete with susage, ribs, chicken, flank steak, and all the Mexican fixins. It was delicious. After dinner we read some more and thus ended an incredibly relaxing day.

This picture is the view from our seats at the beach at about 6:00 pm last night. As you can see, it is still warm enough to go swimming late at night…

The View From Here part 6

Hubby and I took our first real vacation together since we were married six years ago.  And we took it without kids!!  Thanks to my mom and dad, we were given the gift of time to reconnect, relax, and enjoy Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.  It was gorgeous!!  Hubby decided to blog send daily emails to our family to let them know how our trip was going.  I called this a blogging, he did not.  Whatever.   Since he did the leg work, I thought I’d steal his words and sprinkle in a few additional pictures for your enjoyment! 

Back by popular demand, my feet. Happy hour, thank you for blessing us with your existence!

The View From Here part 5

Hubby and I took our first real vacation together since we were married six years ago.  And we took it without kids!!  Thanks to my mom and dad, we were given the gift of time to reconnect, relax, and enjoy Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.  It was gorgeous!!  Hubby decided to blog send daily emails to our family to let them know how our trip was going.  I called this a blogging, he did not.  Whatever.   Since he did the leg work, I thought I’d steal his words and sprinkle in a few additional pictures for your enjoyment! 

Mmmmmm breakfast. Nette and I thought we’d go native today and had a different kind of meal. We, of course got our fresh-squeezed orange juice, coffee, and assortment of melons, but wait, there’s more. Today we had Motulenos. It’s a fried corn tortilla topped with re-fried beans, three eggs over-easy, ham, green peas, tomato sauce, and goat cheese. Very tasty. Oh, and don’t forget the staple fried banana (at every meal).

This is the view from where I sit…

The above blog post email made me laugh until I cried.  I told Hubby that next thing we’d know, he’d be taking the iPhone into the bathroom with him and doing a “View From Here”, narrating every move.…  Apparently I laughed too loud and for too long because moments later he sent out this blog post email to our family looking for suppot.  Heheehe!!

Nette is laughing at me right now. She says you’re laughing at me, too. She says you think I’m ridiculous because I’ve “sent like 82 emails since we got here.”  You don’t think I’m ridiculous, do you?

By the way, this is just one example of the cool little things they make with our towels everyday. One day was swans, one was Eskimos and one was these elephants…

For the remainder of our trip, I narrated most every activity Hubby and I did as if I was writing a View From Here. “And here we are, walking to our bedroom (eyebrow wag) life is good with no kids…”  “As you can see, this is a picture of Nette putting sunscreen on, it’s really hot out here!”  “As you saw from the last picture, I was on page 152 of my book, now I’m on page 154…”

I can be SO clever sometimes!! Right?? Hey, if no one else thinks I am, I’ve always got me because I think I’m hilarious!!

The View From Here part 4

Hubby and I took our first real vacation together since we were married six years ago.  And we took it without kids!!  Thanks to my mom and dad, we were given the gift of time to reconnect, relax, and enjoy Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.  It was gorgeous!!  Hubby decided to blog send daily emails to our family to let them know how our trip was going.  I called this a blogging, he did not.  Whatever.   Since he did the leg work, I thought I’d steal his words and sprinkle in a few additional pictures for your enjoyment! 

Today we took the big trip to Chichen Itza. Rose at 6:20, van left at 7:45. 3 hour ride there with one tourist-shop stop midway. Once we arrived, we were certainly in the middle of the jungle. The heat was stifling.

The ruins were incredible.

Our tour guide, Sergio, was a wealth of knowledge, having been in the tourism industry for 28 years. He not only gave us details about the ruins, but he told us about history, geology, and anthropological facts that I’m certain weren’t widely disseminated.

He did the entire tour in both English and Spanish as we had people from Spain, Argentina, and us in our little 10-person tour group.  Nette and I were amazed at the precision of construction, the sheer size and complexity of some of the structures, and the interweaving of science, math, and the calendar into all aspects of their life and building. Not to mention, the mandatory decapitation for the captain of the losing team for Mayan basketball was pretty cool.

(I felt a wee bit lame doing this…as evident on my face.)

After the ruins, we headed off to an “authentic” (translated: “dive”) Mayan buffet. The place was crappy, but the food was great.

Next stop was going to be an old Spanish town from the 1400’s, but while on our way there, it absolutely started pouring. When we arrived in the town (very quaint, by the way), all the streets were completely flooded. We drove once around the town square and headed out to our final destination.

A cenote, a limestone cave filled with fresh water.  It was breathtaking. The bottom has filled with water up to 16 feet deep in some parts. So, naturally, we had to swim in it. We walked down many limestone steps maybe 100 feet underground or so and swam in a giant limestone cave. Very cool.

Then another 2 hour van ride back to the hotel. Total time: 12 hours.

Dinner consisted of an awesome shrimp-filled avocado appetizer, soup, a chicken main course, and a chocolate mousse dessert. Of course, I had to have my sangria with dinner (I love me my fruity drinks) while Nette partook of a piña colada.

We hit the sack right after dinner because we are so absolutely exhausted from the day. Hence, the view from here…

The View From Here part 3