The Last Hooo-rah

Julie's Bachelorette Party was last weekend . . . and yes, THIS old lady was in attendance. I say that jokingly (kinda) . . . I was about 5 yrs older than the other guests, and I was the only one married and the only one with kids. I certainly felt old in the crowd I was in.

Hey -- I might be old, but I still will take ANY chance I get to go to the beach and lay out for a day or two.

It was a fun weekend . . . sun and a few drinks will make anyone feel great and gets EVERYONE excited about the upcoming wedding. It was what you would expect from a bachelorette party event . . . lots of drinking, giggling, and talking about 'old times'. I know Julie had a BLAST. She totally deserves it.

And the girls on the trip were great . . . the didn't make me feel old at all. I enjoyed listening to them all tell stories about guys they are dating or 'single girl' events they attended. I liked remembering my own days as a single girly as I listened to their tales of life in the city. I kept saying, "Believe it or not, I did have a very different life before I had kids!" Ahhhh . . . those days seem long past. But it was great to remember them for a weekend.

OH -- yes, those are airbrushed shirts we had made for our affair. Saturday night, we donned our shirts and out we went. We were in Panama City Beach, after all. Who goes to PCB and doesn't get airbrushed?!

Hooray for Julie's last hoo-rah. Only about 3 more weekends until her big day.

Favorite Photo Friday

Baby Teagan, March 20, 2010, Acworth, GA

Little Miss Teagan, who I was privileged to photograph at only 8 days of age. The picture above made me laugh out loud when I came across it in editing. Poor thing.

Really, she was not a tough baby . . . she didn't want to sleep, but we made it work, just the same. It's shoots like these that make me realize that each baby is so very, very different. It's a treat each and every time I get to work with these precious newbies.

Dear Ms Thelma

Hello Ms Thelma –

I’d like to bring Kate in to preschool on Tuesday morning to have a few pictures taken with Meg. If that’s not a problem, please let me know what time the pictures are being taken for your class, and we will be sure to be there.

(It works out well because Kate will be at the school on Tuesday for her Easter party!)

And I can’t resist the opportunity to tell you how much Meg loves your class. I hear all about your activities on our daily rides home, and I’m always so excited to learn of the things you guys are doing. The latest thing was the ‘nature walk’ – now Meg is always looking for signs of spring when we are outside! You have created a wonderful learning environment for our children.

Thanks so much –

Heather Dahlby







Her Response . . .



I'm pretty sure that our time is 11:15 on Tuesday but sometimes we get a little behind the schedule.



I'm so pleased that Meg gets so much joy from our class. I always hope that the learning opportunities we have spark the children's interest and sense of wonder about their world and their abilities. I really do feel blessed to get to share in a part of their lives. Give the girls a hug for Ms. Thelma ;-)







I {heart} our preschool. How lucky we are to have found a place that fits our family so well!

Disney is on the Horizon

If you ask Meg about our upcoming adventures, she will tell you with certainty that FIRST comes Aunt JuJu's wedding (April 24th) and NEXT comes Disney World (early May). She would likely then go on and on about Disney . . . which characters she wants to meet and when, and what rides she wants to enjoy in some particular order.

You see, in the mind of a 3 year old, being a flower girl in your Aunt's wedding is very cool. But following it up with a trip to Disney is even cooler.

Her mother has a similar sentiment, as sad as that might sound. I've already gotten my books out for the Disney trip. I've reprinted parade schedules, and I've made all of our dining reservations. And yes, sadly . . . I've started to think about what Disney gear we are all going to be wearing on the trip.

My dad thinks I'm crazy with all my questions and discussions about a trip that is still about 7 weeks away. He is coming along for part of this trip -- and the Dahlbys are coming for part, too -- and I don't know if either of them get how much planning goes into a Disney World vacation. You cannot just 'wing it' -- I mean, you can, but then you could miss out on some of the coolest stuff that the House of Mouse has to offer. I can't wing it. We are t-minus 50-ish days to go, and I'm already deciding which parks we will visits on which days of the trip.

Disney is on the horizon, my friends. And if it is half as wonderful as our trip in 2009, I'll be delirious.

The First of Many

This morning, all I wanted was 10 minutes to fold a load of laundry and get myself dressed . . . but Meg and Kate were in rare form. Ten minutes was just too much to ask.

Kate succeeded in pulling the googly eyes off of some decorative bunnies that Meg and I had made to add to our kitchen Easter decor. After only moments left unattended, I found Kate and the eye-less bunnies on the kitchen table . . . and Kate looked up at me and said, "M&Ms".

Gasp. Yes, I think she ate some googly eyes . . . at least one. There are a couple unaccounted for after I searched a nearby Easter basket and recovered a few. Oh well. I guess we will see if they reappear sometime in the next day or so. (In one way or another.)

Anyway . . . by 9:30am, I really needed to get my act together. I started out by trying to get the girls interested in something in our living room area -- with the hopes that I could leave them for a short time and take care of my 'to dos'. But after setting up an activity and trying for a few minutes, it was clear that Kate wanted Meg's markers . . . Meg was not willing to share . . . it was totally not going to work.

On second thought, I'll just take Kate upstairs with me . . . I thought to myself.

I left Meg to her markers, and Kate and I climbed the stairs. I started to unload the dryer.

Within a minute, Meg was at the top of the stairs, too. Kate was by then interested in some really old, mostly deflated balloon . . . which, naturally, Meg had to snatch from her and throw down the staircase.

I snapped at Meg when I heard Kate crying, "Downstairs!" . . . and when I really realized what big sister had done, immediately I sent her to time out.

With Meg in timeout and Kate back to her balloon (which meant another trip down and up the stairs), I once again attempted to get my laundry under control. A feeble attempt. Kate was all up in Meg's face as Meg sat in time out . . . and Meg was screaming something about, "Mommy! Kate won't leave me alone!"

I snapped again. This time at both of them. Then I had a thought.

Duh, braniac. Just separate them.

I released Meg from time out and told her firmly to return to the living room and find something -- anything -- to keep herself busy. I swept Kate up and plopped her down on my bed, with Curious George on the TV to keep her entertained.

And finally, about 10 minutes after my original attempt, I was able to fold my clothing and put on a clean outfit for my day.

Why is this so significant to me? It was the first time I've ever had to consciously separate the girls. They are old enough now to really get at each other -- drive each other nuts, honestly -- they are starting to really act like sisters. Looks like I have entered some new territory in parenting . . . a territory that is a little scary for me, as an only child.

And it worked. Separating them, I mean. The first time, and it worked. Looks like I've found a tactic that I might use more often.

So, today was the first time I separated the girls . . . the first of many, I think. Welcome to sibling rivalry, Mrs. Dahlby.

Favorite Photo Friday

Our Girls, March 2009, Marietta, GA

One of my favorite pictures of our girls -- of all time. Something about the sweetness of it, the simplicity, the innocence. I love how Meg is hugging Kate so gently from behind. I love how you can see the bath water on their little eyelashes. Just two sweet sisters, sharing some tub time. Lovely.

Meg looks like such a little mommy in this photo, hovering over Kate the way she is. It's pretty indicative of her current attitude toward little sister. Meg is Kate's 2nd Mommy, no doubt. I hear her talking to Kate -- saying exactly the same things I say to HER, Meg -- and it makes me laugh.

Just this morning, I caught Meg saying to Kate -- in a sweet, tender voice, nonetheless --

"Kate, if I have to ask you to put your shoes on one more time, you are going to time out."

While trying to stifle a laugh, I had to remind Meg that she is not the one to say those things to Kate. Mommy is the one who decides on timeouts, though I do appreciate her being helpful in trying to get Kate ready for preschool.

I've heard Meg tell Kate things like, "Here, let me help you. Your mommy will help you with that." and "Mommy is making dinner, so I can be your mommy while she is busy." Meg is VERY into role-playing, imaginative games . . . and inevitably the girls play house. You can easily guess who is "mom" and who is "baby". Earlier this week, I found Meg cradling Kate in her lap on one of our kid-size chairs, singing "Hush Little Baby" to her little sister and trying to convince her to close her eyes. If Kate had let her, Meg would have rocked her all the way to sleep. It was so cute.

Meg, the little mommy. Funny thing is, I was the SAME way when I was a little girl. I always wanted to play mommy. I always wanted to BE a mommy. Baby dolls, doll clothes, tiny strollers -- I loved it all. I never had a little sister, though, to share in the fun. Lucky Meg.

Lucky Kate to have such a loving big sister.

Lucky me. I have two little girls . . . and clearly one is already following in my footsteps.

Still Shooting . . .

I'm still managing to work a little bit here and there . . . still shooting a bit on the weekends, every now and then.

Last weekend, I worked with a family that has been faithful to HD Portraits throughout their son's first year. Many families are like that . . . I do the 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 2 yr portraits . . . and then another baby comes along, and I do all those pictures, too. With loyalty like that, it's easy to keep my client base small and my business busy enough for me.

A few shots of little Shaw, who just heard "Happy Birthday" sung to him for the very first time last week.

Bunco

I feel like I've arrived. The ladies in my neighborhood have been inviting me to Bunco for 3 months now, and it seems that I've become quite a 'regular' to a very established group. I'm in. I feel like a teenager saying that, and I am giddy like a teenager that I can say it.

You see, our neighborhood is pretty 'clique-y'. I think many neighborhoods are . . . especially ones like mine, that are about 10 years old and many of the families have lived here nearly all of those 10 years. They've watched each other have kids and send them off to elementary school. Their kids share teachers and soccer coaches. They've all been friends a long, long time. Being the newcomer to this area, I totally have felt like the new kid in school. I've had to break in, to reach out, and to really make an effort to meet my neighbors.

Don't get me wrong -- everyone is super friendly. They just all know each other . . . so it's kinda tough for the newbies. We've been in our house 3 years at the end of the summer, and I finally feel like I'm a part of the group.

It's a good feeling, being accepted. I'm 32 years old, and that first invitation to Bunco made me feel exactly the same way that I felt when I was a 13-yr old new kid at school and Katie Ferguson (a popular girl in my 8th grade class) called me up to invite me for a sleep over. When I got that phone call years ago, I remember vividly flying from our kitchen to our family room, (corded) phone in hand, to ask my dad for permission. I said something like, "Dad! You HAVE to let me go to Katie's house -- she's so cool and everyone likes her! You have to let me go!" He agreed, and I returned to the phone and heard the sound of laughter. Katie had heard the whole exchange, and she thought I was so funny.

Anyway, when I got the Bunco invite, I called Jim. "I'm in," I said. "They invited me to Bunco." Same sentiment, 19 years later.

Bunco itself is a fun game, but I'm really enjoying getting to know more people that share my streets. I like hearing about what I can expect on the school bus rides, which community activities I should look out for, and what its like to live in a house with older children. I'm younger than many of the ladies by about 5 years, so they like to clue me in on what parenting challenges they are facing -- or they remind me of how easy thing can be when kids are so young. Some of the ladies work, some of them don't. I hear about juggling schedules, I laugh at the funny stories everyone tells about their goofy kids. It's nice to be in a room full of intelligent women, wives, moms . . . makes me feel normal.

The Bunco group has opened our doors to other neighborhood activities, such as the St Patty's Party we were invited to (and attended) last weekend. Jim's getting to know some guys, and now he has a standing invitation to join them on Friday nights at the restaurant bar across the street from our neighborhood. I got invited to the Oscar Party . . . Meg and Kate are making friends with more and more kids at the neighborhood park . . . it's going well for the Dahlbys.

And hey -- we are nice people. These neighbors are lucky to have us!

Anway, I just can't get over how much I enjoy feeling like we are a part of the group here in the 'Hampton. It sounds silly, but it's true. I might be all grown up outside, but inside I'm still that 13 yr old girl, giddy as hell that I've been invited for a sleep over.

Meg's Questions

Recently, my little three-yr-old has become quite inquisitive. Honestly, she's always been inquisitive . . . her questions and requests can sometimes be overwhelming. But recently, the questions have gotten so . . . well, good.

For example . . .

"Mommy, how does the water get to our sink?"








"Where do the garbage men take our trash when they drive away in their truck?"








"Where is California?"

"What makes the clouds move through the sky?"

And . . .

After discussing the fact that on our upcoming DisneyWorld vacation we will be driving -- not flying in an airplane -- to Orlando, Meg responded with, "Oh! Really? We are driving there this time?"

(thoughtful pause)

"Mommy -- did they move Disney World?"

Favorite Photo Friday

Kate Allison, February 27, 2010, Flowery Branch, GA

Just because it made me laugh out loud when I saw it.

Taken while eating cake at Aunt JuJu & Uncle Greg's recent wedding shower.

What can I say? The kid loves cake.

Let's Eat

This is probably not a big deal to anyone but me . . . but I'm happy to announce that we got new dining room furniture at Casa de Dahlby.




I've been wanting a new table in our dining room since the day we moved here nearly 3 years ago. Really, I've wanted a really awesome dining set as long as we've been married . . . but we had a functional/appropriate/pretty nice dining table that Jim had purchased as a bachelor, so we had not seen fit to spend the money on a new set. I wanted a NICE set . . . somewhere to put my mom's china, 8 chairs so we have plenty of seating, and a warm colored stain to match the decor in the rest of our house.




It was a want, not a need. So, I've waited. I had to wait until the timing was right and we could justify the money spent on something that we actually did not need . . . but that I wanted terribly.




Two years ago, Jim (our family money man) gave me the green light on new dining room furniture, and off we went in search of the perfect set. We searched and searched, and we figured out what we did/did not like in dining rooms. Then some family things happened, and the money set aside for the table had to used for something else. Bummer.




Another year went by, and we started our search again . . . this time, we knew more about what we wanted, but we still had a hard time finding 'THE" set for our family. Then my mom suddenly died, and our dining room money again was used for other, family emergency-type things. Double Bummer.




Now here we are, nearly another year later, and Jim once again thought we had the funding for my long-desired new furniture. This furniture was not un-Godly expensive -- I act like we had to save and save for it -- but it was an fairly large expense that had to come after everything else financial was reasonably taken care of because we DID have a functioning table and a small cabinet in our dining room (though not coordinating OR pleasing to the eye). Jim and I try so hard to be smart with money . . . the dining room was not at the top of our list, and there is only so much money to be spent . . . but finally, finally the time had come where we could snag ourselves a new table.



And here it is . . .




BEFORE --

AFTER --

The picture does not do it justice. It's dark-ish wood (they say 'cherry', but I don't think it's exactly cherry), farmhouse style table, ladder back chairs, upholstered seats (I will take the plastic off eventually), and a lovely cabinet to go with it.

We love it.

Like I said . . . probably not a big deal to others, but I cannot WAIT to host myself a dinner party in my new dining room. Now I need curtains and linens to go with it . . . oh, and a new light fixture for SURE . . . but all in time. For now, I'm just happy the furniture is here and making itself home in my home.

Hooray! New Dining Room Furniture!

Tuesday

6:30 am -- wake and shower. make coffee.
7:15 am -- girls wake. dress, make their breakfast, feed breakfast, clean up breakfast, load the car for school.
8:45am -- leave for school.
9:05 am -- leave carpool at Meg's preschool and head directly to Tot Gymnastics with Kate.
9:30am -- play with Kate -- and only Kate! -- at Tot Gymnastics. leave smiling.
10:15 am -- leave tot gymnastics and run one quick errand. (ie -- stop at Publix.)
11:30 am -- return home to unload shopping and quickly regroup.
12:00 pm -- pick up Meg.
12:15 pm -- arrive home. make lunch, feed lunch, clean up lunch.
1:00 pm -- Kate down for a nap. Meg either (a) naps too (b) convinces me to let her skip a nap -- and I oblige if she seems like she can handle it OR (c) we have a friend over for an hour or two after lunch. Mom recharges with about 30 minutes of down time at this point in the day.
3:00 pm -- everyone is up, friends are gone, naps are complete. regroup. snack.
3:15 pm -- dress for Meg's dance class.
3:30 pm -- load up and head to dance.
4:30 pm -- leave dance class after having enjoyed 45 minutes of adult conversation with the other dance moms.
5:00 pm -- regroup and keep Meg from having any pre dinner snacks. make dinner. check email. return phone calls. go through the mail.
6:00pm -- eat dinner, clean up dinner. clean up the living room (with the help of my big girl Meg). load everyone up and go upstairs for the bedtime routine.
6:15 pm -- bath. jammies.
6:45 pm -- a little pre-bed playtime upstairs while mommy puts away laundry, changes sheets, works on getting some kind of stain out of some piece of clothing, or tidy's up the day's mess.
7:00 pm -- stories. rocking. goodnight, Kate.
7:25 pm -- more stories. chatting. goodnight Meg.
8:00 pm -- mom returns downstairs and writes a blog about how exhausting her day was.


Whew. Goodnight Mommy.

And the Winner Is . . .

I know you have been waiting to see how I dressed for the Oscar Party on Sunday . . . and here it is.

Julia Child :)

Technically, I'm Meryl Streep AS Julia Child from "Julie & Julia" -- a 2010 Oscar nominee. I was so proud of myself. Below is the photo I used to model my outfit . . . white on white on white, and all I purchased was the $6 white apron to make my outfit complete.

When I showed up for the party, I was all excited about my creativity. Jim boosted my confidence by saying I'd have one of the best costumes there.

Well, it might have been a good idea . . . but I'm sad to report that I was NOT very original. Behold me -- and the two OTHER Julia's at the event:

That's OK. It wasn't original, but it worked. And I had a great time at the party -- so that's all that matters, anyway :)

In other news: we bought a new car and had new dining room furniture delivered -- all in the past 5 days. I'll post more about those tomorrow or later in the week . . . Tuesday is my busiest day each week, and I'm pooped right now. I must go muster up the strength to feed my girls, bathe them, and get them in bed.

Thanks for the help with the costume!

It will have to wait

I have several stories I would like to post about today . . . but they will all be much better told with pictures. Unfortunately, I left my camera at that fabulous Oscar's Party I attended last night, so I can't download any pics from the weekend. And -- trust me -- there are a lot of good pictures to share!

Really, I can't tell you about what's been going on without pictures.

So, I guess it will have to wait.

Favorite Photo Friday

Kate Allison, Marietta GA, February 4, 2010

What's that saying? When the cat's away, the mice will play . . .

This is what I let Kate get into one morning while Meg was away at preschool . . . the precious, carefully guarded Pez candy collection. Once Kate zipped open the bag, there was no stopping her. She tore through each and every dispenser until she found just a morsel or two of left-over, forgotten Pez candies. And then she gobbled them up quickly, lest her big sister appear from nowhere and snatch it from her.

Hey, what Meg does not know does not hurt her, right? That's what Kate would say, I'm sure.

Gotta love the little sister.

More Random Compliments in Publix

Today, Kate and I visited a Publix grocery located in an area of town that we don't often frequent. I'd been to this Publix many times before, being as it is located near our old house -- but these days, we rarely make it over that way. Our morning errands had us in the area, so I stopped in to my old Publix for a quick run through.

I remember well this elderly woman that was always working a cash register from the days when we used to visit this store . . . and when we entered today, there she was, scanning away with her lovely, sweet smile. I made a mental note as we entered that I would be sure to check-out in her lane when our shopping was complete.

Suna is the woman's name. She is originally from somewhere in Europe -- her accent is, I don't know, German/Swedish/Scandinavian. Probably about 65 years old, tiny build, blonde hair and BRIGHT pink lipstick. I remember Suna because she was always so complimentary of Meg . . . how cute is was, how smiley she was. Whenever I took my Baby Meg to Publix, Suna always showered her with attention. It made me feel good -- and I think that Suna enjoyed fawning over little Meg. It was a treat to see the friendly woman again this morning.

Today, naturally, Suna had the same complimentary reaction to Kate. She talked about how cute she is, and Kate totally hammed it up for Suna. They had a good time 'flirting' with one another as my groceries made their way into their bags.

And then -- AGAIN, unsolicited and in public -- the compliments turned to me.

"How much she is talking! Not even two years old yet? You are a smart mommy to teach her so many things! Oh, she is lucky to have you."

"She is so happy! Oh -- I see she has a snack -- what a smart mom you are. I always see moms in here with screaming babies, and I think 'Give the baby a snack!' Your baby is happy because you take such good care of her."

She said a few other things -- we talked about preschool and how it's so important for kids to get their true education at home, from parents. She said that she knew I was a good mom because Kate was so happy and seemed to be such a easy-going baby. What a kind-hearted woman Suna is. I know she is genuine in her compliments because I've overheard her many times saying kind things to the other customers. She is someone that loves her job and loves meeting so many people each day. I like Suna. I wish I could be more like Suna.

Please understand: I'm not bragging -- I mean, honestly, the lady is calling me a good mom, and all she knows is that I buy apple slices, bread, waffles, and Gogurt for my kids. She has no idea if I'm truly a good mom.

But I know I'm a good mom. And when someone points it out to me, I have an opportunity to take a moment and think about it. Yes, in fact, I do think I am a good mom. My girls ARE lucky to have me.

Thanks, Suna, for the reminder.

Help Wanted

So, I need some help. I'm going to an "Oscar Party" on Sunday evening . . . a bunch of ladies getting together to gab and eat fun snacks while the Academy Awards are on some TV in the background. Should be a lot of fun . . . except for one, fairly large hang-up.

I have to attend dressed as my 'favorite' actor/actress/character from a movie.

Does not have to be a 2010 nominee or anything . . . it can be pretty much anyone. Any actress, any famous person. And for some reason, I can't think of one, single person.

I take that back -- I can think of a few -- but the costumes are too elaborate or the actress has signature long hair that my short 'do can't mimic.

Any ideas? Any thoughts on who I could dress as for this party? I want to look cute -- to fit the theme -- but I don't really want to go all out. Keep it simple.

Any help is much appreciated. Please, please . . . throw anything my way. ANY help is welcomed!!

Friday's Ego Boost

With my Father-in-law in town for a visit last Friday, we were looking for a quick little mid-day activity to get us out of the house and let the girls run wild for a few minutes. When I asked Meg, "What do you want to do today?" she quickly responded with, "Go to Chickfila!" Kate chimed in with, "Nuggets!!" -- and it was settled. We packed up and headed to the local Chickfila for lunch. The perfect solution to a mid-morning slump, in my opinion . . . quick lunch that I don't have to make OR clean up, a few minutes at the playground, then I could bring 2 tired kids back home and straight down for nap.

As any mom knows, the act of taking your kids to a fast-food establishment like Chickfila can be a bit overwhelming for the first 10-15 minutes of your visit. There is the wrangling of kids while you order the food, followed by the awkward attempt at getting your food on it's tiny, overflowing tray to your table without creating a big catastrophic scene. And then you have to find a way to keep everyone calm while you poke holes in juice boxes, dish out nuggets and fries, and try to squeeze some ketchup somewhere that isn't going to create a huge mess for you to have to clean up later. By the time it's actually time to eat, I often find that I've broken a sweat and nearly lost my appetite.

Anyway . . . that's not what this story is about.

On Friday, as I was in the 3rd stage of the fast-food meal -- already at the table with everyone, prepping the food and kids for their meal -- when someone came up behind me and starting talking to me. It was a woman's voice, and she was standing right behind me, leaning in -- so I figured that it must be someone I knew. I was very surprised when I turned around and found a stranger staring at me.

"Your kids are so cute -- oh! Look at those girls. They are just precious!" she was saying.

I looked at my girls. They were in play clothes, hair tousled, and Meg was already chomping on her nuggets with her mouth wide open. But yeah, I'd agree . . . they are pretty cute. And, I'll admit, I've heard it before. Any mom relishes in the compliments bestowed upon their children by random strangers in public. We've all been there. (But it never, ever gets old:) )

But the lady went on.

"And YOU! Look at you -- you are so cute, too. Your hair cut, your glasses, your outfit -- love the boots. You have a great look. You look so cute, too! What a cute family you are. Just precious," she said. She was so enthusiastic in her speech. She meant what she was saying.

I was totally, completely caught off guard. I mean, I was wearing jeans and a white, cable knit sweater with my new-ish boots I'd gotten for Christmas. I had managed to shower that morning -- but I was in no way looking my 'best' for the occasion. I looked like a SAHM, honestly. I didn't feel cute, and I certainly didn't leave the house thinking one single person would even notice me . . . let alone get up out of their chair and come to say something so kind.

I thanked the lady -- several times. I smiled and probably blushed. Then she said how adorable we all were one more time, and she returned to her companion and her chicken sandwich about 1/2 way across the restaurant.

That little 1 minute encounter was the biggest ego boost I've had in a long, long time.

It came at the end of a really rough week. A week in which I'd been trying to figure out what I am doing, why I'm doing it, and how happy/unhappy I am with the way I am doing things. I mentioned before it was a bad week for me, personally. But then this little angel came out of nowhere and showered me with kind words . . . and made me feel so good about myself. I still can't believe it even happened.

I don't really believe in coincidences. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe in Devine Intervention. I think God is working in our lives all the time, and sometimes he takes a moment to put someone in our lives so that we know He is there. He knew what I needed on Friday . . . some stranger to let me know that, even if I'm falling apart inside, at least I look like I have myself together when out in public. As the girls went off to play in the playground and my father-in-law went along to supervise, I sat back and stared out the restaurant window thinking just that . . . how good God is. How much I needed to hear those kind words. How my lunch at Chickfila was certainly and without a doubt NOT a coincidence.

It also reminded me that we all have our issues. I'm not the only one dealing with . . . well, for lack of a better word, life. That woman that spoke to me had no idea what kind of week I'd had. I have no idea what kind of week she had. We all have our own issues . . . nobody's life is easy. But in one short minute with just a few kind words, we can change someone's mood. I was left thinking about how we are all dealing with something, so we should be nice to each other whenever we can. You never, ever know when just one minute of compliments at a Chickfila can really change someone's mood or brighten their day.

After reflecting on my experience, I've decided to pay it forward -- I want to provide someone else with the same good feeling I got on Friday. And the next time the opportunity arises, I most certainly will. I urge you all to do the same. Give someone you know -- or don't know -- an ego boost sometime this week. Just say something nice to someone -- something out of the blue or unsolicited. I bet you will feel as good as the person who receives the compliment.

Friday's ego boost. Sure did kick my weekend off the right way.