Weekend Forcast - Showers of FUN and Patches of happy TEARS

I am so excited for this weekend. Some of my very favorite people are coming into town for Grammie Bea's 90th birthday! I'm so excited she's going to be 90 because as my Mom always says..."turning (fill in the blank) is better than the alternative!" And speaking of mothers, my very own is turning 64 on Sunday. We will mark the occasion with a brunch at mi casa. Cousins and the kindest dog on the planet and Aunties will abound. Saturday is Grammie Bea's party which will also be the debut of the highly anticipated Pink Princess Torte that Katie, Jessica and Grammie Bea selected along with a family sit down at Cafe' Vinotecca. Then Sunday, it's all about the quiche, William Sonoma croissants, Easter Eggs and Happy Birthday muffins. It's my Mom's birthday party with an Easter theme since we won't all be together the following Sunday for the holiday.

Have I mentioned Easter is my favorite of all Holidays? First, it's super important because it was sort of the purpose and culmination of the greatest gift you could ever receive. (Even better than something in a blue box from Tiffany's) I love Jesus. Katie is crazy about Jesus right now and tells everyone she meets how much she "just loves Jesus" and then kisses any picture of Him she can find. I'm glad she views Him as alive and real because guess what Internet, He is! My second favorite thing about Easter is the colors. I love pastels. In fact, I have decided in our next house that all the khaki and cranberry and neutral is going out the window. I am going to switch to pale yellow and apple blossom green and PINK and robin's egg blue, because is there ANY color more beautiful than Robin's Egg Blue? No there is not. My third favorite thing about Easter is the weather, the rebirth of things that have died and the bloom of flowers. Anyone who has been to DC during the Cherry Blossoms knows what I'm talking about. And the last favorite thing about Easter is the occasion to get a new dress. There is something about a new Spring dress that makes you feel young and flirty and pretty no matter how old you get. Instead of traditional Easter baskets filled with candy, my girls receive a dress in their baskets along with new shoes, tights and accessories. I always try and add a special accessory like a hat or purse or jewelry. I LOVE this tradition and look forward to surprising them their whole lives with a new head to toe outfit for Easter.

What are your plans may I ask? Our church holds a world wide conference the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October every year. This year, since Easter falls on the first Sunday in April, we will have a traditional Easter feast in between or after the broadcast of the conference. It should be a really mellow Easter. Then, the following Sunday we will debut our Easter fashions. I think I shall not serve ham because I am serving it at Mom's brunch on Sunday. I think my Dad is going to grill lamb chops which I used to think I hated but then tried two years ago alongside this mint balsamic dipping sauce and realized I like lamb chops but not lamb shank or loin or leg.

I will do an official birthday post honoring all things Mom on Sunday. I think it might include a few of her favorite sayings. She is famous for her sayings. We call them Diane-isms. Mike can rattle them off without taking a breath. It is a hobby for my Dad, Mike and me. My Mom cares for it not.

Well then, I guess I shall go for now. My activities today have included straightening my home, washing and preparing bed linens for yummy guests and cleaning out silver bullet to lend to favoritest cousin and her husband. On the agenda for this afternoon is a nap, a pedicure and grocery shopping at my leisure because I have scheduled a babysitter who will leave upon my husband returning home after a hard day healing people and saving lives. In reality he spends most of his time talking with the elderly about their cholesterol and high blood pressure, checking suspicious moles, looking into the throats and ears of crying tots, calming nervous mothers about H1N1, doing pelvic exams (this always freaks our parents out when we remind them that Mike looks at other people's vajay-jays) and thankfully washing his hands many many many times per day. I guess on some level he heals and saves lives, but not like Dr. Hunt on Gray's Anatomy who let's face it is the biggest stud there is. Except that he has a wicked case of PTSD and strangled Christina in her sleep. So that's not so good. Yeah, I think I'll stick with Mike who just kicks me in my sleep and has an endless desire to plaster his body to mine in sleep which I'm sorry is just wrong. "MOOOOOVE OVERRRRR" is heard a lot in the night in our house. It is said by both me and Katie who share our beds with the King and Queen of Snuggle Town. Maybe I need to bunk with Katie and the Velcro twins can spoon the night away?

And I just have to say one more thing. (that's a Diane-ism) But I do, so hear me out. I am embarrassed a lot to admit on this blog that I have a house cleaner. I've mentioned it before but it's always been with trepidation because I am afraid people will think I am either bragging or will judge me for some reason. The only reason I have a house cleaner is because all 4 of us are really messy. I am horribly disorganized. I leave Diet Coke cans EVERYWHERE and I spill. All 4 of us leave clothes on the floor of our bedrooms and Bare Mineral powder dusts my vanity. But the thing is see...I hate a dirty house. It makes me very very very sad. So, I have a lady that comes every two weeks and does the really deep heavy cleaning. It is all I can do to straighten and clean up before she gets here so she can see enough counter to wipe. So bragging? No. Embarrassed that I am such a mess? You betcha. But my shame has caused me to avoid mentioning a person who is a valued member of our family and who we love with all of our hearts. Her name is Luz and she arrives like clockwork every 14 days and saves all of our sanity. When the girls walk in and smell pine sol - they exclaim "aaaaahhhh LITTLE LUZ has been here!!!" When Mike comes home after a long day of work and sees the order and cleanliness he smiles and says "it's like a little haven from the world!" And when I see what Little Luz does for my family, I am more grateful than you could ever know. I love Luz. And not just because she mops my floor. I love her because she is an amazing person. She is a wife and wonderful mother. She LOVES my daughters like a second grandmother. Today, she arrived with 2 gigantic pink Easter baskets filled with candy. The girls make her cards and draw her pictures as often as they do for anyone. When the girls see her they run to her and kiss her. She makes up their room so beautifully with different stuffed animals and surprises under their pillows. Sometimes she takes the bus to my house and has to walk over a mile from the bus stop. I am ashamed sometimes that I don't do these things as well as Little Luz does for my family. That's why I don't ever talk about her. Which is wrong. Because she's AWESOME. And she allows me to do important things like blog and watch Top Chef. So judge away.

Okay, so please don't really judge me. I can't really take it. I'm off to make my grocery list. Goodbye for now.

post edit - I just realized I talked of pedicures, babysitters and house cleaners in this post. You have every right to judge me. I am awful. But as of 7pm, I will be awful with less dead skin on my feet.