I'm officially a community activist! Oh dear...

The Parks and Rec Dept. wasted no time in responding to my complaint email about the park next door and the, uh, ambitious and young crowd that hangs out from 3pm until way past dark not to mention the broken glass and trash scattered all through the grass and rocks. Just a big safety violation spread out over two acres or so.

Today a P&R Dept. employee was at the park walking around with an important looking notepad jotting down poems for all I know...but he did look like he was taking notes about the equipment and condition of the area. As for the ambitious and young crowd, well, I was told to call the police about them. They all need a big, fat time-out in jooovey as far as I'm concerned.

I will make a difference, I'm determined. I prayed and prayed two nights ago that God would help me know what I could do to help make this a safe place for my kids to play. I sent my email with my fingers crossed and my head turned upwards and look what happened...my prayers have already started to be answered. Oh, and the historic Hughes Grove Neighborhood we are a part of added me to their association email list so I can attend the next meeting and help be a voice for our residents. I really can't remember having a prayer answered in such a short amount of time. I think my normal answer delivery time is anywhere between 3-6 months. No joke!

Three Oh

My thirtieth birthday was yesterday...the best birthday I can remember ever having. Husband got me a house (haha)...by the way we close Tuesday. My mom got me an antique ladder that I plan on decorating with. My friend Angie surprised me with a pedicure at my favorite salon...and boy do I feel sorry for the girl that worked on my feet...but they are SO gorgeous and soft now. I hadn't been that relaxed in a LONG time.I sort of regret not having taken any pictures to keep and share, but I have vivid and amazing picture memories to keep for myself.

After pedicure, Ang suggested we go get a piece of cheescake from The Cheesecake Factory. Seriously, I'm never going to turn an offer like that down, so off we went. We walk into the mall to go into the restaurant entrance and I see Angie's husband Shawn sitting on a bench. I knew right then something was up because he was supposed to be at home with their two girls. I figured Mike was inside somewhere waiting to surprise me but still was a little confused. Turns out he was inside and had a table waiting for us. It was perfect, great food, the best company...we took a walk around the little pond in the center of the shopping plaza afterwards. Good thing we did because we were all so full we wanted to throw up and the cold air helped a lot. One last surprise when I got into the car to go home, Mike had bought me a book on beading jewelry and I was so happy! I have been wire wrapping all of my pieces and hadn't learned true beading yet so I'm excited to make some new pieces with new techniques. Home to my homemade birthday cake from my Dad and the night ended perfectly.

He's such a boy...she's such a girl...

Mattea...such a girlie girl. I always say I'm not sure where she came from. Of course I know...it was the land of sensitive fairy queens...where feelings are hurt at the slightest off movement or tone of voice...where headbands are crowns and baby dolls get breastfed...where there are always birds tweeting and clouds floating by and grass to see. My Queenie...I love her to pieces.

Gunnar is such a boy. Always moving, squirming to see what is going on around him. His new "talent" is growling. In fact, I'm not sure he went a whole three minutes today WITHOUT growling. He is such a great note to end on. He and Mattea have finally been interacting as brother and sister instead of random baby and toddler. By saying that, I mean fighting over toys, feeding off of each other's cries and whines, and laughing at each other.

The Mountain and the River

Mattea has really discovered her imagination. She loves to pretend and I probably owe that to Dora. Lately she claims that, whenever Daddy is gone, he has gone to the "mountain" and had to go through the "river". She then persistently says "ok? ok?" until you agree with her. She then gives you an approving look and grunts...as if to say "Ok then...conversation over."